Definition of "Real estate broker"

Ginny Solis-Wright real estate agent

Written by

Ginny Solis-Wrightelite badge icon

Realty One Group

One of the most recurring real estate doubts is regarding what is a broker in comparison to what is a real estate agent.

Well, it depends from state to state to tell exactly what a Broker can and cannot do, but it’s safe to say that, in every state, a Real Estate Broker is someone with more real estate education and experience than a real estate agent. To become one, you have to attend a certain number of Real Estate classes and pass the state exam. The duration of those classes is longer than the ones an agent goes through and the exam they take is more difficult to pass too. Summing up: although all Brokers can act also as Agents, not every Agent can act as a Broker.

In general, you could say that a Broker is the person with the certification necessary to list the property and sign the papers and overview the transaction between the home seller and the home buyer. But there is a large variety of other services he/she provides for home sellers and home buyers, like Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), preparing contracts and acting as the guardian of the escrow. Sometimes, the home seller or buyer doesn’t even meet the Broker, but a real estate agent that works under him/her.

The Broker is the one who collects the commission once the sale is made and he/she divides the value to all participating parts like the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent – most of the times an employee of his, but, depending on the type of listing agreement (like an Open Listing) it can be someone independent from him/her.

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

The definition of option explains the term as something that can be chosen in spite of having multiple other alternatives. It could be an option for food, which shows a preference for one ...

List of architectural design items needing to be corrected and resolved prior to finalizing a building design. ...

Measure of the annualized compound growth of a real estate investment. ...

A hard white finishing cement with a fast setting time and a high polish capability. Consisting of anhydrous gypsum plaster and an accelerant, alum, Keene's cement is normally applied over ...

Peculiarities necessary to form a valid joint tenancy. They are unity of time, title, interest, and possession. ...

Same as term soil porosity: Extent to which soil has cavities or pores, thereby allowing water to pass through. ...

Surveyor's use of hypothetical lines to portray a properties position. North to South in the meridian line while East to West is the base line. ...

A Construction method of using twice the number of framing members to provide additional structural strength. ...

Same as term marginal land: Land that has poor income potential, usually used in an agricultural sense meaning that the land is untellable, has poor access, is extremely steep, has suffered ...

Popular Real Estate Questions