Luxe | Privacy Is The New Gold Standard
The Best Homes Never Hit the Market. Here's What That Means for You.
If you have spent any time searching for a home on the Westside at the higher end of the market, you have probably noticed something: the properties that everyone seems to be talking about are rarely the ones you find on Zillow. That is not a coincidence.
In 2026, nearly 40% of luxury real estate transactions are happening off-market, away from public portals and open houses and the noise that comes with broad exposure. And for ultra-high-net-worth buyers and sellers, that number is even higher. The shift is real, it is accelerating, and if you are serious about buying or selling at the top of the Westside market, it is worth understanding why.
Why Sellers Are Choosing Privacy
For most sellers at the luxury level, the decision to go off-market comes down to control. Public listings expose a property to everyone: casual browsers, competitors, media, and the kind of speculation that can actually work against a seller's best interests. A home that sits on a portal too long starts to carry a stigma, regardless of why it hasn't sold.
Off-market transactions allow sellers to engage only with qualified, serious buyers, to manage timing on their own terms, and to keep their personal details out of the public record. For many of my clients, that level of discretion is not just a preference. It is a requirement.
The Tax Angle
New regulations introduced in 2026, including changes tied to capital gains and estate planning, have added another layer of motivation for sellers to consider private placements. Off-market deals offer more flexibility in structuring a transaction, which means sellers can better align the timing and terms of a sale with their broader financial picture. It is one more reason why the most sophisticated sellers are increasingly choosing this route.
What This Means for Buyers
For buyers, the off-market shift is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is obvious: if the best properties are never publicly listed, how do you find them? The answer is relationships. Access to off-market inventory comes from being plugged into the right network, working with an agent who has built real trust with other high-end sellers and their representatives, and being known in the market as a serious, prepared buyer.
The opportunity is that off-market transactions tend to move with less friction. There are fewer competing offers, less public pressure on pricing, and a more tailored process on both sides. When it works, it works well for everyone involved.
The Westside Reality
On the Westside of Los Angeles, the off-market market has always been active. Some of the most significant sales in Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and Santa Monica over the past several years have happened entirely outside of the MLS, through quiet conversations between agents who know and trust each other.
What is different now is that this dynamic is becoming the norm rather than the exception at the luxury level. Buyers who are waiting for the right home to appear on a portal may be waiting a long time. The homes they are looking for may have already sold.
If you are thinking about buying or selling at the high end of the Westside market, the most important conversation you can have is about what is actually available, not just what is listed. That conversation starts here.
