What is offered privately

Three kinds of property move privately in the Northern Valley and the wider county: estates whose owners will sell at a price but not at a sign; properties being prepared for a public listing and shown early to a short list; and land and teardowns, where the buyer who can read the lot is usually found before the lot is advertised. Where a seller has agreed to a dedicated page, the firm’s own private offerings are presented under Current private offerings, below.

How a buyer is introduced

Before any discussion of a buyer’s motivation or ability to buy, the Consumer Information Statement is explained and delivered (N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.9(e)). A written brokerage services agreement follows, with the brief: towns, timing, what the property must have, and whether financing is settled. Introductions are made one property at a time, by appointment; the seller’s completed Property Condition Disclosure Statement is received before the buyer is asked to commit to anything (N.J.S.A. 45:15-16.87(e); Division of Consumer Affairs instructions, August 2024). The written offer, the contract and the three-business-day attorney-review clause are the same as in a public sale.

How a seller withholds a listing

The Commission’s default is cooperation: unless an owner directs otherwise in writing, every licensee cooperates with every other licensee, which includes notifying the multiple listing service (N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.4(f)). A seller who wants privacy signs the Commission’s prescribed waiver, which opens with the acknowledgment that wider exposure may produce a faster sale at a higher price, and the written brokerage services agreement records that the property will not be circulated in a multiple listing service (N.J.S.A. 45:15-16.94(b)(2)). The election can be changed in writing; a property offered privately can be listed publicly afterwards. At the multiple-listing level, the National Association of REALTORS®’ Multiple Listing Options for Sellers policy provides the comparable office-exclusive route, under which the seller directs in writing that the listing not be disseminated through the MLS.

What stays exactly the same

The disclosure statement, the flood-risk questions, the lead-paint rules for pre-1978 housing, attorney review, the inspection period the contract sets, and the seller’s Realty Transfer Fee and Graduated Percent Fee all attach to the sale, not to the marketing. The Division of Taxation’s memorandum of July 2, 2025 records that fee’s move to the seller for transfers on or after July 10, 2025. The full table is on the process reference: how an off-market sale works in New Jersey.

Matching, not marketing

A private sale has no public market to test a price against, so the valuation carries more weight, and the question is not how many people see the property but whether the right few do. The method is the one set out at how a home is valued: comparable sales adjusted for condition, finish, lot and layout, tested against the buyers most likely to want the property.

From the Journal: The Quiet Market, on off-market strategy, discretion and timing.

This page describes the framework, drawn from the rules and the statutes, and is not legal advice. Which cooperation instrument a sale calls for is a question for the seller’s own attorney. Sources reviewed November 5, 2026.