There is a real estate brokerage firm in San Diego California that is following the lead of a couple of other firms that will not allow their real estate listings to get posted on common listing sites such as MLS, Trulia, Zillow and Realtor.com
Besides making accusations that home listings which get posted on sites such as the sites listed above make their way to Craigslist and cause crimes to be committed and that other Real Estate Agents get access to their listings, a real estate broker from the fore mentioned firm makes the argument for “dual agency” without calling it such.
By purposely avoiding to publicizing listings to potential home buyers who otherwise would have seen them will only hurt sellers because they will likely lose out on getting top dollar, multiple bids, open house traffic, or having their homes on the market longer than it should.
Home buyers do rely on the internet to research homes for sale and use sites such as MLS, Trulia, Zillow and Realtor.com to find listing. Home sellers must also understand dual agency increases the complication of any real estate transaction. Lawsuits involving dual agencies have become more and more common. Any real estate firm desiring to serve as dual agents have to be informed and get written consent from all parties, PRIOR to the start of the representation. Real estate firms should also review their listings and representation agreements to make sure they disclose possible dual agency situations that can arise from representing multiple sellers or multiple buyers to avoid litigation.
Real estate brokers and agents should give serious thought to all potential consequences before entering into a dual agency situation and sellers should beware of what they lose before picking a broker who isn’t publicizing their listings to full potential.
Please watch the video and let us know your thoughts.
Daily Properties Managing Editor
I imagine all markets are different. In our market, Houston, which is a very good market, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com do NOT have an impact on sellers achieving Top Dollar, fewer days on market or multiple offers. Those factors are driven by local market conditions, current market conditions and the expertise of the listing agent. imo.