What Public Listing Law Means for Luxury Lake Geneva Market

As a bill that would set new restrictions on private home listings waits for consideration by Illinois lawmakers, Wisconsin may provide a crash course in how state mandates affect the luxury real estate market.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a law in December requiring residential offerings to be listed on public websites unless the seller signs a form opting out of public listings. The law takes effect in January 2027.

In Lake Geneva and its surrounding towns on the shores of Geneva Lake, multimillion-dollar lakefront houses regularly change hands through quiet deals without going public. And the agents who work those deals often make use of extensive client and agent networks to find buyers. Lake Geneva, a 90-minute drive from downtown Chicago, is a popular second home destination for wealthy city residents.

Listing data shows that in the last 12 months, eight of the 14 Geneva Lake lakefront homes that brought in more than $7 million were not on the public market before they sold, a clear display of the penchant for private deals in the exclusive market.

But the new law is not likely to mean full transparency for these top-end deals. With the option to opt out, sellers who want to stay off the radar are still likely to do so, said Bob Webster, a Compass agent in Lake Geneva. He said he doesn’t anticipate much difference in the number of off-market sales.

“It’s just going to add another form or two, and just a little bit more explanation as to what they need to do,” Webster said. “Somebody who says, ‘Yeah, [I want to list privately],’ is it going to make their life more difficult? I don’t think so.”

Gina Nocek, an @properties Christie’s International Real Estate agent in Lake Geneva, said she thinks some off-market deals are not driven by sellers, but by agents hoping to represent both sides of the deal.

“If the seller wants it off the market, I think they should have the ability to keep it off the market,” Nocek said. “But if it’s just the agent coming in and saying, ‘Hey, I have a buyer, let’s just do a one-party listing,’ I don’t think that’s the best solution.”

Law adds new requirements for off-market listings

The language of the Wisconsin law is similar to the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy and has been backed by home search giant Zillow, which has made an aggressive push against private listings.

Like the bill proposed in Illinois, the Wisconsin law doesn’t outlaw private listings outright. Instead, a seller opting out of public marketing must sign a state form acknowledging the downsides of private marketing soon after signing a listing agreement. Unlike the Illinois measure, the Wisconsin law requires sellers to provide a reason for why they opted out of public listing.

MetroMLS, which serves the Lake Geneva area, already has forms that sellers need to sign in order to enter a “Coming Soon” listing or exclude their listing from the Multiple Listing Service altogether. And brokerages often have their own disclosure forms for sellers opting out of public marketing.

The law also requires the state to produce a brochure “on the benefits of public advertising, the potential impacts of limiting marketing, an explanation of the opt-out form, and sample questions for consumers to ask listing firms regarding marketing strategy.”

Additionally, the law includes rules about agent compensation and disclosure requirements for AI-altered listing photos.

Patti Zurla, the sales manager at Compass’ Lake Geneva office, said she thinks the law will give sellers more information about their listing options, rather than just following the default process of their agent or MLS. Zurla is chair of the Wisconsin Realtors Association’s Forms Committee, where she is charged with developing the forms for agents to comply with the law.

She said she supports sellers having multiple options for advertising listings — including through off-market channels and “Coming Soon” designations, which Compass makes use of in its three-phased marketing strategy — but also supports giving sellers more information about their options.

“A lot of sellers did not know what their options are,” Zurla said. “I think the biggest thing that I like about this is the state is saying: ‘Tell the seller. Make sure the seller understands what the heck is going on.’”

Zurla said she likes the concept of the brochure explaining the listing strategies for consumers, but she questioned the need for sellers to provide a reason for opting out of public marketing, especially if it is for a short period before going public.

“If I want to just try this for four days, or a weekend, just to see,” she said, “why can’t I — if it’s not against the law, and why should it be?”