Real Estate Agent Representation

Which party in a real estate transaction is represented by the real estate agent–the buyer or the seller? Until recently that question was never asked because the answer was always the same. Traditionally all the marketing professionals involved in real estate transactions were legally and ethically obligated to conduct business on behalf of the seller. They may have aided the buyer in certain situations, but their client was the seller. Today that is not necessarily the case.

In a time of increasing specialization, buyers can be represented by a real estate agent who functions solely as a buyer’s broker. In this case, the sales professional helps the buyer locate a home, negotiate the price, and is responsible to the buyer only, for an agreed-upon fee or a percentage commission.

In any real estate transaction you have the right to know which party the real estate agent is representing.