Signing an Exclusive Listing

Why sign an exclusive listing when selling your home?

Sellers often wonder why Real Estate Agents want them to sign up with an exclusive listing. They think that by opening their home up to many agents, more activity will be generated and that they will reach a broader buyer’s market.

Unfortunately, this is not often the case. Agents who work on open listings keep them on their books in case a buyer walks into their office and the open listing may match what the buyer is looking for. Maybe…. Let’s face it, agents will always prioritise their exclusive listings over open listings.

However, if you give an agent an exclusive listing, they actively work on your property. They are in essence almost ‘guaranteed’ a sale, as the seller has not listed with other agents, and they have exclusive rights on marketing the property. Hence, the agent has ‘buy in’. It would make no sense to let the property just sit on their books and do nothing with it. Quite different to an open listing would you agree?

Think about it this way, would you work hard on a project at work if you weren’t going to get paid for it? Would you put effort into it, working at night and weekends with no overtime? Well it is much the same with real estate. Agents work on commission, they do not have a definite income coming in on a regular basis, and sales can fluctuate depending on economic factors, seasons and the current property market. So, if you want an agent to sell your home, and put in the effort that is required, then it makes sense to sign an Exclusive Listing when you list your property for sale.