Should You Sell Your Home Off-Market in Maryland?
New Research Says Private Listings Can Earn Sellers More — Here's What DC-Area Homeowners Need to Know
If you're thinking about selling your home in Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, College Park, or anywhere along the Route 1 corridor in Prince George's County, you've probably wondered: should I list publicly on Zillow and the MLS, or is there a smarter way? A major new academic study — published in February 2026 by a University of Georgia finance professor — suggests that for the right seller, going private can actually earn you more money. Here's what the research found, and what it means for homeowners in the DC Maryland suburbs.
What the Research Found
The paper, titled "Pocket Sales in the Housing Market: Selection, Outcomes, and Policy," analyzed more than 700,000 home sales in a major U.S. metro area over two decades. The core finding challenges conventional wisdom: sellers who negotiated their sale privately — before the home ever appeared publicly on the MLS — received an average price premium of 1.7 percent compared to comparable homes sold through standard open-market exposure.
That might sound modest, but on a $450,000 home — close to the median in parts of Prince George's County today — that's roughly $7,500 more in your pocket at closing.
Key Finding: Sellers who used private channels achieved a sale-to-list price ratio 1.6% higher than open-market sellers — meaning they essentially captured their full asking price, while typical MLS sellers gave that back in negotiations.
Source: Hayunga, D.K. (2026). "Pocket Sales in the Housing Market: Selection, Outcomes, and Policy." SSRN Working Paper No. 6359754. Note: This is a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed.
Why Does Selling Privately Get a Higher Price?
The research identifies a two-part mechanism — and neither part involves anything shady.
1. You avoid the stigma of price cuts. On the open market, if your home doesn't sell quickly, buyers start to wonder why. A price reduction — even a small one — sends a signal that something might be wrong. The study found that private sellers were nearly 80% less likely to need a price reduction. By testing the market quietly first, sellers preserve the integrity of their pricing.
2. You sidestep the negotiation discount. On the MLS, your list price is essentially a starting point. Buyers expect to negotiate down. Private sales flip this dynamic: the buyer is getting exclusive, pre-market access to a home they want, and they're willing to pay for that certainty. The seller captures the asking price. The negotiation surplus stays with the seller, not the buyer.
The research also confirmed this has nothing to do with agent self-dealing. The premium held up even in arm's-length transactions where the buyer's agent came from a completely different brokerage — actually performing slightly better than dual-agency deals.
What About the Clear Cooperation Policy?
In 2020, the National Association of Realtors implemented the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which required agents to submit listings to the MLS within one business day of any public marketing. The intent was to reduce private sales and promote transparency.
The research found a "compliance paradox": the policy didn't reduce the number of private deals — agents kept doing them. But it did erode the price advantage, compressing the 3.3% pre-policy premium down to near zero after 2020.
Now there's a new development. In February 2026, a federal court declined to block Zillow from banning private listings that aren't shared via the MLS, further tightening the screws on semi-private marketing strategies. The landscape is shifting — which is exactly why how you structure your off-market strategy matters more than ever.
How Compass Private Exclusive Works — and Why It's Different
At Compass, we've built a legitimate, structured approach to private marketing that's designed to work within current rules while still capturing the advantages the research describes. It's called the Compass 3-Phase Marketing Strategy, and it's one of the most powerful tools I have for sellers in the Hyattsville, College Park, and Riverdale Park markets.
The research supports exactly this kind of staged approach. By calibrating your price privately first — the study calls this "immunizing sellers against adverse signaling" — you protect your public launch from the negotiation discount that comes with a visible price reduction history.
What This Means for Sellers in Prince George's County and Montgomery County
The Route 1 corridor — from Hyattsville through Riverdale Park to College Park — has become one of the most interesting seller markets in the DC metro area. Proximity to DC, improving walkability scores, the incoming Purple Line (targeting a Winter 2027 opening), and price points well below comparable DC neighborhoods have attracted a motivated, educated buyer pool.
That buyer profile matters for this strategy. The research notes that private sales work best when buyers value certainty and exclusive access — when they're willing to pay to avoid the competition of the open market. In neighborhoods like the Hyattsville Arts District, where buyers are often coming from DC and understand competitive markets, that dynamic is very real.
It's also worth noting: the study found the premium was largest for luxury properties, but positive across all price tiers. A $350,000 townhome in Riverdale Park still benefits from the same signal-preservation logic.
Local note: Prince George's County's dual property tax structure — city/town tax on top of the county rate — affects your net proceeds at closing. In Hyattsville especially, understanding your full tax picture is part of a smart pricing strategy. This is exactly the kind of local detail I walk every seller through before we decide on the right launch approach.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to sell my home off-market in Maryland? Yes. Pocket listings and private sales are legal in Maryland. The Compass Private Exclusive program operates within all current NAR and state guidelines. The key distinction is that active marketing to the general public triggers MLS submission requirements — quiet, network-based marketing does not.
Will I get less money selling privately? The research says no — and often the opposite. The key is having access to a buyer network deep enough to generate real competition even without public exposure. That's where working with a Compass agent on the Private Exclusive program makes the difference.
Does the Compass Private Exclusive work in Hyattsville and Prince George's County? Yes. The Compass network has strong buyer activity across the DC metro, including active buyers specifically targeting the Route 1 corridor for its value relative to DC and Montgomery County. I regularly connect PG County sellers with buyers who are pre-qualified and actively searching — often before anything goes live.
What's my home worth before I decide on a strategy? That's the first conversation we need to have. I provide a detailed, no-obligation home valuation for any seller in Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, College Park, and surrounding areas — factoring in current comparable sales, the local tax structure, Purple Line proximity, and your specific home's condition. From there we can decide together whether a Private Exclusive launch, a Coming Soon, or a direct MLS strategy makes the most sense for you.
Does the 2026 Compass vs. Zillow ruling affect my options? It limits purely semi-public strategies — marketing publicly while avoiding the MLS. But the Compass Private Exclusive is a true network-based private sale, which remains a legitimate and powerful option. The court ruling actually reinforces why working within a structured program like Compass's 3-phase approach is smarter than trying to improvise around the rules.
Thinking About Selling in Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, or College Park?
I work exclusively in DC and the Maryland suburbs, with the majority of my business concentrated along the Route 1 corridor in Prince George's County. I know this market — the comps, the tax structures, the buyer profiles, and which approach gets sellers the best outcome.
Whether you want a private launch through the Compass network or a full public MLS strategy, the first step is the same: knowing what your home is actually worth in today's market.
Call or text me at 443-990-1230 for a free, no-obligation home valuation. I'll give you a real number, not a Zestimate — and a real strategy, not a generic listing plan.
Ryan Hehman | Compass | Ryan.Hehman@compass.com