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In late 2023, a $42 million oceanfront estate on the Big Island of Hawaii quietly changed hands. The transaction — conducted entirely off-market and without public fanfare — reflected a model that Harold and Mandana Clarke have spent over a decade perfecting. That same model now appears to be influencing national policy.
On March 25, the National Association of REALTORS formalized its recognition of seller-driven privacy by adopting the Multiple Listing Options for Sellers policy. The change allows home sellers to delay public marketing of their properties while still informing MLS participants — a move that marks a significant departure from decades of “list to market” orthodoxy.
Yet while the announcement has sparked commentary and cautious celebration across large brokerages, one fact remains overlooked: This policy shift bears a striking resemblance to the methodology already embedded in the Clarkes’ model.
The policy that mirrors a private strategy
NAR’s new policy introduces the concept of “delayed marketing exempt listings.” It gives sellers the ability to opt out of immediate syndication to public platforms or third-party websites. Instead, their properties can be held within the MLS — accessible only to participating agents — for a designated period, which each regional MLS can define locally.
NAR frames this move as a response to calls for flexibility and fairness. But beneath the administrative language lies a fundamental transformation: The association now implicitly endorses the idea that not every transaction benefits from exposure. That has been the foundation of the Clarks’ business for more than a decade.
“This isn’t a pivot for us,” says Harold Clarke. “It’s validation. Our clients have always told us they wanted something different. Now the system is finally acknowledging that.”
At Private Listings, the portfolio is guarded with layers of discretion. Properties are not posted publicly. Access is granted only via invitation, and even then, specific properties are shown only after vetting. The firm describes itself as a “private office” rather than a brokerage, reflecting its emphasis on trust, legacy and precision over scale.
An industry slow to catch the shift
Data supports the growing relevance of privacy-first models. Redfin’s 2024 analysis showed that 14.8% of homes over $10 million in U.S. coastal markets were sold off-market. In Hawaii, industry insiders report that figure is likely over 20%, driven by global buyers and owners with complex personal considerations — security, taxation or simply preference.
Despite this, most brokerages continued to rely on the one-size-fits-all MLS pathway. The Clear Cooperation policy, introduced in 2020, reinforced the mandate to file a listing within one business day of public marketing. For years, this policy posed a challenge to agents representing high-discretion clients.
The Clarkes worked around it, never violating rules but never relying on the MLS either. Their success hinged on a network of relationships cultivated over years. Unlike platforms that scrape public data, they built Private Listings and Luxury Big Island as high-touch environments. And their results — managing three of the top private listings in Hawaii — indicate that discretion does not hinder demand.
“For our clients,” Mandana Clarke says, “privacy isn’t about secrecy; it’s about control. They want to direct the process, not be swept up in it.”
Whispers of friction behind closed doors
While the NAR announcement was polished and forward-looking, industry sources suggest the road to policy change was riddled with contention. Several large MLS operators initially resisted the delayed marketing exemption, citing concerns over fairness and the potential for abuse. Some argued it would lead to inequality in access to listings, favoring elite brokerages and reducing transparency.
Yet lobbying pressure — from boutique firms as well as high-profile clients — forced a recalibration. The language of the new policy still emphasizes fairness and disclosure. It mandates signed acknowledgments from sellers and imposes strict documentation rules. But the underlying concession is clear: Sellers deserve the right to decide how, when and to whom their homes are shown.
For traditional brokerages, the change raises questions about the future of lead generation, listing syndication and mass-market strategy. For the Clarkes, it offers something simpler — legitimacy.
“We’ve had our model questioned, mimicked, even dismissed,” Harold says. “But what can’t be replicated is the intention behind it. You can’t code that into an app.”
From anomaly to blueprint
MegaCapital Hawaii Corp, the holding entity for both Private Listings and Luxury Big Island, is now developing a third platform to help clients better understand the continuum of real estate options — public, private and everything between. The Clarkes are quick to point out that not every property needs to be sold quietly. Their strength, they argue, is knowing when that strategy fits.
As the rest of the real estate world begins to recalibrate around new rules, the Clarkes’ model no longer sits on the fringe. It now occupies a newly defined space, one where privacy is policy, and silence can be the most strategic move of all.