If you are planning to sell your home in San Francisco, you may be wondering whether to keep things private or list on the public MLS with a top SF listing agent.
A new study by RealReports and the San Francisco Association of Realtors (link below) found that San Francisco homes listed publicly on the MLS sold for an average of about $302,000 more than comparable homes sold off‑market between 2022 and 2024, with a median difference of $289,000.
For context, that is an 18.6% price advantage for sellers who chose a public MLS listing instead of a private sale. Over that three‑year period, researchers estimate that San Francisco sellers collectively left more than $750 million in potential value on the table by staying off‑market.
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The study analyzed thousands of local transactions and removed outliers like the top 5% of prices and family transfers to keep the comparison fair. Even after that, MLS‑listed homes consistently outperformed off‑market sales across different price points and neighborhoods. Between 2022 and 2024, the average gap between MLS and off‑market sales widened from roughly $211,000 to nearly $394,000, underscoring just how powerful exposure can be in our city’s complicated real estate market.
San Francisco homes listed publicly on the MLS sold for an average of $302,000 more than homes sold off‑market.
When you list on the MLS, you invite real competition for your home. The MLS feeds your listing to buyer agents, consumer search sites like Zillow and Homes.com, broker platforms, email alerts, and more, which dramatically increases the number of qualified buyers who see, tour, and consider your property. More eyeballs and more showings typically translate into more offers, stronger terms, and a better final sales price.
MLS exposure also supports a full, coordinated marketing plan: professional staging, photography, copywriting, digital ads, email campaigns, open houses, and targeted outreach to other top SF realtors. As top SF listing agents, we design each campaign to meet and then exceed buyer expectations for your specific home and neighborhood, which helps your property stand out in buyers’ shortlists instead of blending in with competing listings.
For many years, “quiet” sales sounded appealing to some sellers because they promised privacy and simplicity. The new SF data puts a price tag on that choice: the typical off‑market seller gave up around $300,000 in additional value compared to similar homes listed publicly on the MLS. In other words, the convenience of staying off‑market often comes at a level that can meaningfully change what is possible for your next purchase, your savings, or your long‑term plans.
On a citywide level, the study’s estimate of more than $750 million in lost value from 2022-2024 shows how much wealth can slip from homeowners’ pockets when properties skip full public exposure. For most San Francisco home sellers, an MLS listing is not only common practice but a core part of protecting and growing your household equity.
If you are curious how this applies to your own place, check out our guide to San Francisco home prices, what your home is worth, and how we help sellers set a strategic list price: What’s My Home in San Francisco Worth?
“Pocket listings” used to mean properties that agents quietly marketed through their personal network or brokerage long before entering the MLS, if they were ever entered at all. Historically, a powerful pocket network came from years in the business, strong agent relationships, and deep local knowledge. That world looks very different today, especially in San Francisco and the broader Bay Area.
After the National Association of Realtors introduced the Clear Cooperation Policy, local MLSs implemented rules requiring that once a listing is publicly marketed in almost any way (yard sign, social media, email to non‑brokerage agents, website promotion), it must be entered into the MLS within one business day. The only true exception is an “office exclusive” listing, which is limited to internal sharing within a single brokerage and cannot be advertised to the general public. In practice, this means the classic “pocket listing that is quietly shopped to the whole city for weeks” is much less common than it once was.
Clear Cooperation was designed to promote fairness and transparency by reducing long‑running off‑MLS marketing that limited access for buyers and other brokerages. Some large firms responded by building and heavily promoting private, in‑house listing networks as a selling point for their clients. The pitch is that sellers benefit from early exposure to a large internal buyer pool, sometimes with the promise of quicker or more controlled sales.
Broad public marketing generally aligns more closely with a seller’s financial best interests.
Critics, including many independent and boutique top real estate agents in San Francisco, point out that these internal networks can create conflicts of interest. If a brokerage can keep both sides of the deal “in‑house,” it may be tempted to prioritize a quick internal match over broader competition, instead of pushing for a fully marketed, public launch that would expose the listing to all qualified buyers in the market. The new RealReports and SFAR analysis, showing a consistent price advantage for MLS‑listed homes, adds real data to the argument that broad public marketing generally aligns more closely with a seller’s financial best interests.
For the vast majority of homeowners in San Francisco, a full MLS listing is the best way to maximize price and terms. If your main goals include getting the strongest sale price, attracting motivated buyers, and negotiating favorable contingencies and timelines, the MLS should almost always be your starting point. This is true for typical condos, TICs, single‑family homes, and small multifamily buildings in neighborhoods across the city.
Our San Francisco home sellers netted 22% higher sale‑to‑list price and accepted offers nearly three weeks faster than the MLS average.
A public MLS strategy lets us combine several powerful levers: pricing, presentation, and targeted promotion. We fine tune the list price to meet buyer expectations and the current market environment, we invest in professional staging and photography, and we market the home across online portals, social media, email, and in‑person showings.
You can see how this comes together for our listing clients in our recent case study of 2025 results, where our San Francisco home sellers netted 22% higher sale‑to‑list price and accepted offers nearly three weeks faster than the MLS average: Our 2025 Results: How Are San Francisco Home Sellers Doing?
There are some situations where a seller may reasonably prioritize privacy or convenience over extracting every last dollar from the sale. High‑profile individuals, public figures, or those going through sensitive life events sometimes prefer a tightly controlled process with limited showings and minimal online presence. In those cases, an office‑exclusive strategy or quiet, relationship‑based outreach can be a better emotional fit, even if it likely means walking away from some financial upside.
Sometimes there is already a specific, pre‑identified buyer, such as a neighbor, friend, or family member, who wants to purchase the property. If everyone understands and accepts that the home is not being fully tested on the open market, a private sale can be the cleanest route. The key is for the seller to understand the tradeoff and make a conscious decision, ideally informed by data like recent comparable sales and with an experienced SF listing agent’s perspective.
In the Clear Cooperation era, truly off‑market homes make up a small slice of San Francisco real estate. Most properties that see any kind of public marketing must appear on the MLS very quickly, which means serious buyers and their agents should focus first on strong MLS alerts and searches. The perception that certain brokerages control a large, secret shadow inventory is often overstated and can distract both buyers and sellers from the main event: the public marketplace.
That said, there are still occasional off‑market and pre‑market opportunities that surface through relationships, especially among experienced agents who have been active in San Francisco for many years. On our team, we keep our buyer clients informed about these options while being honest about how limited they truly are.
For a deeper dive on this topic, read: Off‑Market Listings: Can You Find Hidden Gem Properties in the San Francisco Bay Area?
At Danielle Lazier Real Estate, our listing strategy starts with a simple question: what are your personal goals? For most sellers we work with, that means a fully public MLS listing with a clear game plan around home prep, staging, pricing, marketing, and negotiation. Year after year, this approach has helped our clients outperform the broader market as measured by sale price, speed, and terms.
We also understand that “most sellers” does not mean “every seller.” In situations where privacy or unique logistics are more important than maximum price, we’ll help you choose the right option for your personal situation. Selling a home in San Francisco is not just a one‑size‑fits‑all solution. We’d love to help make a plan that works best for you.
Learn more about our team here: About Danielle Lazier Real Estate and Vivre Real Estate
If you are starting to think about selling, choosing your agent is an important first step. Then we’re here to help with all the rest. We can help you evaluate what the right process would be for your property, including the price and pre-sale prep work to maximize your chance for the best possible sale price.
Learn more about our services for sellers and buyers:
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And lastly, if you are ready to talk through your options, we would love to connect and learn more about your personal situation and goals. Contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!
