Listing Agents vs. Selling
Agents
You see, there are listing agents and selling agents. Listing agents are the
ones who "list" a home for sale on the Multiple Listing Service, and they deal
primarily with sellers. Selling agents or "buyer’s" agents do not usually
list homes very many homes for sale. They deal mostly with homebuyers. Buyer’s
agents sell the homes that are placed in the MLS by the listing agents.
Most agents concentrate primarily on one side or the other. This is not a "hard
and fast" rule. There are also agents who split their time equally between
buyers and sellers. Often, these are the very best Realtors. The fact of the
matter is, if you are buying a home who do you want on your side? A
Realtor who deals primarily with sellers? Or one who deals mostly with buyers?
If you call on an
advertisement in a newspaper or one of those home selling magazines, you are
most likely calling the listing agent. Listing agents place ads for several
reasons. First, they need to show the seller that they are doing something to
sell their home. Second, by showing how much they advertise, they can also
attract other individuals who are thinking of selling their homes. They point to
their ads as an example of what they will do to market the house.
Mortgage Glossary1
