New York lawmakers have passed a bill that changes the default rule for how homes are sold across the state: properties must now be marketed publicly unless the seller signs a specific state disclosure opting out.
The Fair and Transparent Real Estate Listings Act (S10274 / A10679) cleared both houses of the legislature in Albany with near-unanimous bipartisan support. It was sponsored by State Senator Nathalia Fernandez and Assembly Member Michaelle Solages. Once signed into law, it takes effect 180 days later.
The bill targets a practice known as “private listings,” in which a home for sale is marketed quietly through a single brokerage’s agents or a small invite-only network instead of being posted where any buyer can find it. Sellers are often told this is a discreet, exclusive way to sell. Buyers typically never learn the home was on the market at all.
Under the new law, that arrangement becomes the exception rather than the default. Sellers who still want to sell privately will have to sign a standardized state disclosure to opt out of public marketing.
A tight market gets tighter
The law arrives as New York City’s housing supply keeps shrinking. StreetEasy’s September 2026 market report found inventory fell 4.9% from a year earlier, to 16,737 homes — the ninth straight month of year-over-year decline since January.
Homeownership in the city is already rare by national standards. Only about 33% of city residents own their homes, according to the NYU Furman Center, compared with a 65% national average.
Buyers have told pollsters they want full visibility into that limited supply. A StreetEasy/YouGov survey found 90% of New York City buyers want to see every home on the market before deciding where to put their money.
What private sales cost sellers
The case for public listings isn’t just about buyer access — the data suggests sellers lose money by going private. Zillow Research found homes sold privately in New York City went for about 3.7% less than comparable homes listed publicly.
A StreetEasy/Harris Poll survey also found that sellers who went the private route were far more likely to regret it: 1 in 3 private sellers reported seller’s remorse, compared with just 12% of sellers who listed publicly.
“Sellers are best served when the most buyers can see their home,” said Caroline Burton, general manager of StreetEasy. On buyer access, Burton was blunt: “All buyers should be able to see all of the listings for sale. Period.”
Supporters of the new law frame it as a consumer-protection measure for a market where information asymmetry has real financial consequences. It also marks a shift in how the state treats private real estate transactions by default — sellers retain the right to keep a sale private, but now must take an affirmative step to do so rather than simply relying on a broker’s off-market arrangement.
