What to Know About Living in ‘Non-Disclosure’ States for Real Estate Prices
If you live in a non-disclosure state, it means that sale prices in a real estate transaction are not disclosed or recorded as public record.
That three-bedroom house around the corner with the fenced-in pool just went from “For Sale” to “Sold,” and you’re curious: What did they get for it? But if you live in a non-disclosure state, you might search the web only to find inaccurate information — if there’s any listed at all.
Disclosure, in general, is important in real estate. State and federal laws require that sellers disclose any lead paint, radon, asbestos, and other potential hazards on their property so that buyers are aware of any trouble spots. This differs from a non-disclosure state, however. In this context, “non-disclosure” doesn’t mean that you keep quiet about any roofing, termite, or other maintenance issues but that public records keep mum about your selling price.
If you live in a non-disclosure state, it means that sale prices in a real estate transaction are not disclosed or recorded as public record. If you want to know the sale price of a home, you’d have to ask the seller directly or work with a real estate professional who has access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Otherwise, you’re in the dark.
How does this affect you when you sell your home? Let’s explore more about non-disclosure states in real estate.
Step one: Talk to an expert!
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What does ‘non-disclosure’ mean?
Non-disclosure, as far as purchase price is concerned, is consumer protection, says Eric Martinez, a top real estate agent with 15 years of experience serving Jarrell, Texas, one of about a dozen non-disclosure states around the country. It offers privacy for buyers and sellers.
“Nobody wants to disclose what they paid for [a house or other property],” he says.
Texas Realtors (formerly the Texas Association of Realtors) notes that it’s a common misconception that being a non-disclosure state means that a listing broker doesn’t have to disclose their data to the MLS.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) also says that non-disclosure states “cannot withhold sold data from MLS data feeds.” The restrictions on disclosing this data relate “only to public display of that information,” NAR explains on its website. “Participants can use sold data, in the same fashion that other data provided by the MLS is used, to develop estimates of value.”
Martinez says that potential sellers in a non-disclosure state shouldn’t worry that they won’t know what their house is worth, or that their agent won’t be able to find details about the sales of comparable properties. The sellers can undergo a home appraisal. Plus, their agent can provide them with the relevant sale information.
“Disclosure is made public in the real estate community as we move forward with buyers and sellers when we’re doing market analysis or buyer presentations to ensure that a price is not absolutely ridiculous,” Martinez says. Nondisclosure is “more relevant in terms of property taxes,” when a municipality wants to assess a home’s value.
Why do some states practice non-disclosure?
If you live in a state such as Florida, where you can look up any address through your county’s property appraiser to see what a home is worth, the non-disclosure that Martinez describes may seem puzzling.
The decision to enact non-disclosure laws often stems from a combination of privacy concerns, tax policies, and industry influence. While transparency in real estate transactions can benefit buyers, sellers, and investors, some states prioritize confidentiality for various reasons:
Privacy protections for property owners
Many homeowners prefer to keep their financial transactions private, especially high-net-worth individuals or those concerned about public exposure.
Publicizing real estate sale prices can lead to unsolicited marketing, potential security risks, or even personal safety concerns for sellers.
Preventing tax assessments based on sale prices
In disclosure states, property taxes are often reassessed based on recent sales prices, which can cause fluctuations in property tax bills.
Non-disclosure laws can stabilize property tax assessments by preventing county appraisers from using recent sale prices to adjust tax valuations. Instead, they rely on alternative valuation methods, such as property characteristics and historical data.
Influence from real estate and business interests
Some real estate professionals and investors advocate for non-disclosure laws to protect market advantages. If property sale prices are not public, agents and appraisers may have greater control over market data, making their expertise more valuable.
Similarly, large institutional investors and developers may favor limited transparency to maintain negotiation leverage and keep strategic purchases discreet.
Tradition and state policy preferences
Some non-disclosure states have long-standing traditions of limited government intervention in private transactions.
In states like Texas and Wyoming, where personal property rights are deeply valued, keeping real estate sales private aligns with broader political and economic philosophies.
By understanding the motivations behind non-disclosure laws, buyers, sellers, and investors can navigate these markets more effectively, using alternative sources of property data when needed.
As Daniel Gonzalez, director of legislative affairs for Texas Realtors, told The Wall Street Journal: “A private transaction between myself and you should be kept private. … We should not have to give the government any indication of what we’re doing in our private lives.”
In addition to individual privacy concerns, another reason not to disclose is to maintain the “proprietary information” that the MLS collects, according to a document from the Montana Department of Revenue. Some argue that disclosing sales information publicly reduces the value of the MLS and real estate professionals.
Proponents of disclosure say this creates “an artificial legislatively sanctioned monopoly on this information.” Keeping such information private also leads to tax inequities, says Dick Lavine, a board member of the Progress Texas Institute. “This is like making a store clerk guess the correct sales tax on an item, while you cover up the bar code and hide the price,” Lavine writes.
The idea is that knowing sale prices makes real estate markets more efficient and equitable, with people less likely to pay prices that are wildly out of range.
