Stephanie Barnes Realtor: GRI, AHWD

09/16/2026

Connecticut has passed a new real estate law that addresses private, pocket and office-exclusive listings.

Let’s be clear about what it does—and what it does not do.

Connecticut has not banned a seller from choosing a truly private listing that is not publicly marketed. What the state has now required is something that amounts to a warning label: If a seller chooses to opt out of public marketing, the seller must sign a form acknowledging that the property may receive less exposure, attract fewer buyers, generate fewer offers and potentially sell with less favorable price or terms.

In other words, sellers may still make that choice, but the possible consequences must now be clearly placed in front of them in writing.

My personal opinion? If you were previously encouraged or persuaded to keep your property off the open market, this new disclosure should prompt some thoughtful questions.

Why was that strategy recommended? Were all the alternatives clearly explained? Whose interests did the recommendation serve? And did you fully understand that limiting exposure could also limit competition?

That is not an accusation against any individual agent or brokerage, and public marketing never guarantees a particular price. Every property and every seller’s circumstances are different. But broad market exposure is generally intended to encourage competition—and once a property is sold privately, the seller can never know with certainty what the open market might have produced.

Sellers have every right to choose privacy. They also have every right to ask difficult questions and make that choice with their eyes wide open.

Connecticut now requires exactly that.

09/10/2026

08/29/2026

Design trends come and go, but beautiful traditional architecture has a way of remaining timeless. Before transforming a grand old home to suit the look of the moment, it might be worth taking a little stroll through the comments on this Dwell article. They are… illuminating.

08/24/2026

Just a little reminder that, beginning October 1, Connecticut will require residential properties of one to four units to be publicly marketed unless the seller specifically signs an opt-out disclosure.

I think this is a positive—and long-overdue—step.

If privacy is the concern, it is very easy for a property to be listed on the MLS without being distributed through the IDX feed to brokerage websites and consumer sites such as Zillow, Realtor.com and Homes.com. The agent simply selects the appropriate options in the MLS. The property remains visible to MLS participants and their buyers without being displayed across the internet, and I completely understand why a seller would want to protect privacy.

That is very different from keeping a listing within a private network, where only a limited group of agents or buyers knows it is available. Restricting exposure can reduce competition, limit a seller’s ability to discover what the full market will offer, raise fair-housing concerns and sometimes create an opportunity for the agent or brokerage to capture both sides of the transaction.

It is difficult to understand how this practice became widespread enough that legislation was necessary. But real estate can involve a great deal of smoke and mirrors, and sellers may not always realize whose interests a private-listing strategy serves.

Private listings—marketing a property to an exclusive group of brokers or buyers before the broader public gets a chance—are controversial.

08/23/2026

A beautiful day for showing 1681. First the rain- now this!

08/22/2026

A quiet stretch of sand and dunes, a sunny day, and the privacy that makes this part of Fairfield beach so special. Listing in bio.