A combination of apartments in 80 Clarkson, a newly constructed residential building in downtown Manhattan, recently went to contract for approximately $129 million. If it closes as expected, the deal will mark the most expensive private residential listing ever recorded in downtown New York.

The building, currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2027, has been marketed privately for roughly 18 months. The transaction involves multiple units combined into a single residence, a format typically reserved for the highest tier of ultra-luxury buyers.

What makes this deal notable is not only the price, but the context.

A Private Sale at a Historic Scale

Private listings are often criticized as niche or limiting. Yet this transaction demonstrates that at the very top of the market, privacy is not a drawback, it is often the point. Ultra-high-net-worth buyers frequently prioritize discretion and controlled access, over broad public exposure.

This deal reinforces what many practitioners already know: for certain assets and certain buyers, private marketing is not a compromise, it is a strategy.

The Ironic Undercurrent

The developer of 80 Clarkson is affiliated with leadership connected to a major real estate platform whose public stance has been sharply critical of private listing networks. That same platform’s CEO recently published an op-ed arguing that a Private Exclusive Network is a “Trojan Horse”, framing private listings as harmful to transparency and consumers.

And yet, one of the largest private residential deals in New York history is unfolding quietly, off-market, in a building tied to that very ecosystem.

The contradiction is difficult to ignore.

What This Deal Actually Proves

This transaction does not argue that private listings are always the right approach. It does, however, make one thing clear:

Choice matters.

Some sellers want maximum exposure. Others want discretion. Some buyers want to browse publicly. Others want to transact quietly. A functional market accommodates all of those preferences rather than enforcing a single, rigid pathway.

Private listings are not inherently anti-consumer. When used appropriately, they are simply another tool, one that sophisticated sellers and buyers continue to use at the highest levels of the market.

The Bigger Takeaway

As the debate around listing transparency intensifies, deals like this one serve as a reality check. The market already votes with its feet, and at the very top, it often votes for privacy.

The question is no longer whether private listings exist. They clearly do.
The real question is who gets to use them, and under what rules. If you’re selling or buying at any level of the market and want to understand when private marketing makes sense, and when it doesn’t, I can help you evaluate the strategy that best aligns with your goals.