Off-Market Sales Cost San Francisco Home Sellers $750 Million in Lost Value, New 3-Year Study Finds

RealReports and SFAR join forces on new on- vs off-MLS listing analysis

RealReports' Sightline product gives MLSs visibility and insight into their market

Research Leads Jay Pepper-Martens (CTO, SFAR) and James Rogers (CEO & Co-founder, RealReports)

RealReports' new 'Sightline' product exposes how reduced visibility and “exclusive” networks are draining equity from San Francisco homeowners.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, November 5, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A landmark data study conducted by RealReports and the San Francisco Association of REALTORS^® (SFAR) has revealed that homes listed publicly on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) sell for an average of $302,000 more (median of $289,000) than comparable homes sold off-market — an 18.6% price advantage that reinforces the MLS’s critical role in promoting open, competitive, and transparent housing markets. In total, off-market listings cost San Francisco home sellers more than $750 million in lost value between 2022 and 2024 — a staggering figure that underscores how transparency directly translates to consumer protection.

At a time when private listing networks and limited-access databases are gaining attention, this research provides clear, quantifiable evidence that public exposure drives better outcomes for consumers.

A Data-Driven Look at Market Transparency:

The study was the result of a multi-month collaboration between SFAR and RealReports, designed to bring clarity to a question hotly debated in the industry: Does listing publicly on the MLS materially impact sale price performance?

The analysis incorporated thousands of verified transactions from 2022 to 2024, leveraging MLS data from SFAR, CRMLS, and the rest of the NORCAL MLS Alliance (MetroList, bridgeMLS, BAREIS, MLSListings, Bay East, and Contra Costa Association of Realtors) and cross-referenced those listings with RealReports’ extensive corpus of public record sales. The combined dataset was normalized and standardized under RESO (Real Estate Standards Organization) specifications to ensure interoperability and accuracy across systems.

The research focused exclusively on single-family homes and duplexes in San Francisco County, excluding the top 5% of sale prices, inter-family and trust/LLC transfers, and pandemic-affected years (2020–2021). Unlisted, probate, and distressed sales were retained to preserve a realistic view of the market.

Through this carefully controlled dataset, the team was able to isolate the true performance delta between homes marketed through the MLS and those sold privately. The findings were unambiguous: properties listed on the MLS consistently sold for significantly more across every price range and year analyzed, with the average difference between 2022 and 2024 widening from $211,000 to $394,000 (median range of $160,000-$315,000). Cumulatively, that pricing gap translated into roughly three-quarters of a billion dollars in lost seller proceeds over the three-year period — a clear, data-backed demonstration of how much consumers stand to lose when listings are kept off the MLS.

Jay Pepper-Martens (CTO, SFAR) explained, “We built this study on solid, repeatable foundations—stripping out noise, normalizing the data, and letting the results speak for themselves. In the spirit of finding the truth, we were committed to telling the full story no matter what. The conclusion is clear: visibility equals value. Sellers gain when listings are public, and the market as a whole becomes more transparent and efficient.”

James Rogers (CEO, RealReports) added, “This research represents months of rigorous engineering and statistical validation. By pairing MLS datasets with public records under RESO standards, we created a replicable framework any MLS can apply. The ~$300,000 delta isn’t a marketing point — it’s an economic truth.”

Introducing Sightline™ — Clarity for a New Era of Market Competition:

Built directly from this research foundation, RealReports has launched Sightline™, a new analytics platform designed to empower MLSs with real-time visibility into their own on- vs. off-market dynamics.

Sightline brings together MLS and public record data in a visual dashboard that allows MLS leadership to instantly analyze pricing, volume, and listing trends by geography, property type, or price range — insights that previously required months of manual effort and specialized analysts.

Beyond analytics, the platform includes ready-to-use member marketing assets, charts, and social templates that MLSs can deploy to educate members and consumers about the tangible benefits of public listing transparency.

Hud Bixler (CIO of SFAR) commented, “This partnership with RealReports represents a new model for MLS innovation — agile, data-driven, and collaborative. Sightline takes something traditionally buried in spreadsheets and turns it into actionable intelligence that empowers our members and strengthens the consumer case for the MLS.”

Zach Gorman (COO of RealReports) added, “Sightline gives MLS’s the data and the voice they deserve. For too long, the conversation around off-market listings has been dominated by narrative and intuition. Now the MLS can fight back with facts — and that changes everything.”
Click here to read the full white paper on the SFAR and RealReports analysis.

About RealReports
In today’s market, you either know the most—or lose to someone who does. RealReports turns comprehensive, nationwide property data from 70+ top providers into AI-powered intelligence that helps agents deliver deeper value, close more business, and gain a decisive advantage. Trusted by leading MLSs and brokerages, RealReports has set the new industry standard for real estate agents determined to win.

About San Francisco Association of REALTORS^® (SFAR):
The San Francisco Association of REALTORS^® is a professional organization that represents the interests of real estate professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a history spanning 100+ years, SFAR is dedicated to promoting excellence and ethical standards in the real estate industry, while advocating for policies that support fair housing and diversity.

Zach Gorman
RealReports
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