Seller agency

Key Takeaways

• Washington's agency statute names this role the seller's agent, a broker who has an agency relationship with only the seller in a real estate transaction (RCW 18.86.010). Listing broker is the everyday industry name for the same person.
• Seller agency arises when the firm appoints a broker to represent the seller under a services agreement, not from showing the property and not from who pays the fee.
• A seller's agent owes loyalty, timely disclosure of conflicts of interest, a referral to expert advice, confidentiality, and a good faith effort to find a buyer (RCW 18.86.040).
• The duty not to disclose a seller's confidential information continues after the agency relationship ends, and yields only to a subpoena or court order.

What It Means

Seller agency is the arrangement in which a broker represents only the seller in a transaction. Washington's statute names this role the seller's agent, defined as a broker who has an agency relationship with only the seller in a real estate transaction (RCW 18.86.010). Most people in the business call the same person the Listing Broker.

The relationship is created by appointment, not by activity. The firm and the seller sign a Listing Agreement, the firm appoints one of its brokers to represent that seller, and only then does seller agency exist. This matters because the seller's agent duty set is heavier than the baseline every broker owes everyone in the transaction. On top of skill and care, honesty, and disclosure of material facts, a seller's agent must be loyal, keep the seller's confidences, disclose conflicts of interest, and make a good faith effort to find a buyer.

Seller agency is one half of a pair. The mirror role is Buyer Agency.

How It Works in Washington

RCW 18.86.040 sets the seller's agent duties in Washington. The broker must be loyal to the seller by taking no action that is adverse or detrimental to the seller's interest, timely disclose any conflicts of interest, advise the seller to seek expert advice on matters beyond the broker's expertise, not disclose confidential information from or about the seller (even after the agency relationship ends, except under subpoena or court order), and make a good faith and continuous effort to find a buyer, an effort that pauses once the property is subject to a contract of sale.

Those duties sit on top of RCW 18.86.030(1), which since January 1, 2024 provides that a broker owes its listed duties to their principal and to all parties in a transaction, and that those duties may not be waived. A seller's agent therefore still owes the buyer reasonable skill and care, honesty and good faith, and disclosure of known material facts. Loyalty and confidentiality are what the seller gets and the buyer does not.

Example

Seller Rosa signs a listing agreement with Emerald Coast Realty on May 10, and the firm appoints broker Tim as her seller's agent. The list price is $499,000. Rosa privately tells Tim she will take $475,000 if she has to.

A buyer offers $460,000 and asks Tim directly whether Rosa would accept less than list. Tim's loyalty and confidentiality duties under RCW 18.86.040 mean he cannot reveal the $475,000 floor. He must still answer honestly about the roof leak he knows about, because disclosure of material facts under RCW 18.86.030(1)(d) runs to all parties in the transaction. Tim presents the $460,000 offer to Rosa in a timely manner, Rosa counters at $485,000, and the parties settle at $478,000. Emerald Coast Realty's compensation, set at 3 percent in the listing agreement, is 3 percent of $478,000, or $14,340.

Common Mistakes and Exam Traps

• Washington licenses brokers and managing brokers. There is no real estate salesperson license in Washington, so answer choices using salesperson are describing another state.
• Loyalty and confidentiality belong to the agency relationship. Skill and care, honesty and good faith, and disclosure of known material facts are owed to all parties and cannot be waived by anyone.
• Who pays the fee does not decide who is represented. An agreement to pay or payment of compensation does not establish an agency relationship, under RCW 18.86.080(2).
• Confidentiality does not expire at closing or when the listing ends. It survives termination of the agency relationship.