Topic
How an off-market sale works, what it gains an owner and what it trades away.
Seller’s DeskNational
In the year to June 2025, 91 percent of U.S. sellers hired an agent, and owners who sold alone reached a median of $360,000 against $425,000 for agent-assisted sales. In the median Older Home Index neighborhood, older homes averaged 23.1 percent of new construction prices, so the yardstick for a private offer matters as much as the route.
Seller’s DeskNational
A replacement garage door returned an average 267.7 percent of its cost at resale in Zonda’s 2025 report, and a minor kitchen remodel 112.9 percent. On a hypothetical $450,000 house, a 30 percent overrun on a $30,000 quote shrinks the gain from fixing from $13,800 to $4,800.
Seller’s DeskNational
Homes that sold in August 2026 spent a median of 31 days on the market while supply rose to 4.9 months, and a new job at least 50 miles farther from home can qualify an owner with under two years in the house for part of the $250,000 federal exclusion.
Seller’s DeskNational
In September 2026, 20.8 percent of U.S. listings carried a price cut, the most for a September since 2018, while builders held 8.5 months of new-home supply and sold at a median of $393,700, below the $429,100 median for existing homes.
Seller’s Desk
An heir’s gain on a sale is generally measured from the house’s value on the date of death and reported as long-term, and 32 U.S. jurisdictions now allow a transfer-on-death deed that passes a house outside probate. The federal estate tax exclusion for 2026 deaths is $15 million.
7 min read
Seller’s Desk
Buyers’ agents averaged 2.43 percent in the second quarter of 2025, and the deed tax on a $500,000 sale runs from $550 at California’s county rate to $5,000 at Pennsylvania’s state rate before local add-ons. On a hypothetical $420,000 listing, commission, credits, preparation and four carrying months take $42,900.
7 min read
Seller’s Desk
An off-market sale drops the listing but keeps the contract, the deposit, the title search and the closing, and the settlement agent generally reports the sale to the IRS on Form 1099-S unless an exemption applies. The typical seller in the latest national survey had owned the home a record 11 years and was 64, so the paperwork often starts with finding it.
8 min read