Definition of "Dual listing"

Danny  Skelly  real estate agent

Written by

Danny Skelly elite badge icon

Orson Hill Realty

When you sign a Listing Agreement with a real estate broker or agent, he or she has a fiduciary responsibility to represent your interests exclusively. However, should another client of the real estate broker or agent want to make an offer on your house, the agent/broker would then find himself in a Dual Listing.

But how can he do his/her job of representing my interests exclusively if the home buyer is also his/her client? you ask.

Well, he can’t. Only if you (and the home buyer) agree so. A dual listing occurring without the knowledge of both the home seller and the home buyer violates the principal fiduciary relationship and therefore is illegal. So, whenever an agent/broker notices this conflict of interests happening, the first thing he/she needs to do is warn both clients. If both of them aren’t bothered by that… then game on!

Real Estate Secrets:

Dual Listing is yet another Listing Agreement ramification. Check out others like Net Listings, Open Listings, Option Listing and much more in our Glossary terms.

If that feels too advanced for you, go back to basics and try our Listings 101: What you need to know when you hire a Real Estate Agent or a Broker blog post.

Want no such thing? We’ll give you the TL;DR version: find a real estate agent and let him/her do all the heavy lifting.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

(1) Temporary and symbolic payment showing good faith and obligating two or more individuals until a final transaction takes place. The binder is typically returned if the final agreement ...

A cooperating broker or agent defines a real estate broker who helps another broker in a private property transaction. Typically, the cooperating broker represents the seller and is ...

A legally transferable debt instrument by which the issuer agrees to pay the payee within a certain time period. Note usually pay a specified rate of interest tied to the market rate of ...

(1) Type of loan where the final payment is substantially greater than the previous payments; also termed partially amortized loan. A debt agreement might stipulate a balloon payment when ...

Earthquake insurance is the type of insurance policy that specifically covers damages to your real estate caused by seismic activities. It can refer both to the rare coverage against ...

Latin: now for then. Descriptive of actions which are performed after a deadline has elapsed, but retroactively have the same effect as if they were carried out in a timely manner. For ...

(1) Methods that involve discounting the future cash flows generated by an income property. These techniques are used primarily for valuation. (2) Methods of selecting and ranking ...

Approach to appraise rental property based on anticipated future earnings to be derived from it plus the estimated selling price at the end of he period held. ...

Landowner's legal right to the water found on his property. For example, there might be a stream of water adjacent to the land. The water might be used for irrigation or other purposes. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions