Open Listing
Open Listing is a type of Listing where home sellers allow a real estate agent to sell their house, while not providing any kind of exclusiveness: other agents can also attempt to make the sale. Whoever brings an acceptable offer first, gets the sales commission. And that’s not all: if the home seller finds, by his/her own merits, a buyer; no agent gets the commission!
Normally, home sellers choose an Open Listing to make the sale process faster – after all, each agent has their own clientele and the competition creates a sense of urgency that might make the real estate agent go that extra mile for your property. Also, because if the home doesn’t sell or the home seller changes his/her mind about selling it and decides to pull it out of the market, he/she won’t have to pay anything to the agents trying to sell their home.
However, beware: because of this risky and competitive scenario, many real estate agents shy away from Open Listings. They might favor their Exclusive Rights to Sell Listings and pay less attention to your property. Also, Open Listings can be perceived by potential home buyers as a way to sell difficult or overpriced properties. “If it’s such a nice house, why would its owner need to spread the sales duty through so many agents instead of just one? Maybe he’s had no success, so he’s desperately trying to see if anyone else can sell it”, they might think to themselves. This is a situation the home seller wouldn't want to have, because it means the home buyer will try to lower the Fair Market Value of the house in the negotiation.
So, whenever you decide you want to sell your house, evaluate if an Open listing is the best listing option for your case.
RealEstateAgent.com ADVICE:
Thinking of doing an Open Listing for your house? Hosting an Open House event might be a good option for you to reach possible home buyers and agents. Check our article on how to "Optimize Your Next Open House" for more tips.
Don't think Open Listings are the way to go? No problem; Open Listings are just one out of 5 types of listings. Check our Glossary Terms for the other types of Listing like the Exclusive Right to Sell Listing, Exclusive Agency Listing, Multiple Listing and Net Listing.
Still confused? Use The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory® and find a trustworthy real estate agent to guide you through the listing best suited for your property.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Deed of trust or mortgage in real estate in which the lender subordinates her loan to another lender whose priority is first if there is nonpayment by the borrower. ...
Permits oral evidence to augment a written contract in certain cases. ...
Land expansion resembling a star. The starts center is the city, and major thoroughfares going away from the city are depicted. ...
In short, an overage means a surplus or an excess of money. An overage can present itself at a property at an auction where the asset has gone over the asking price. Suppose there’s a ...
Branching is a widespread phenomenon in banking and other financial domains. A branch office defines an office or business bureau that a company opened in another location to provide ...
Matters that need to be rectified in a home or building prior to its sale or acceptance by a new owner. For example, a leaking water pipe should be repaired prior to showing the property to ...
Failure, without sufficient reason, for one or both parties to perform the terms of a real estate contract. Breach requires unequivocal, decisive, and absolute refusal to carry out the ...
A loan that is to be replaced by a permanent loan. ...
Every borrower has his own definition of amortization schedule in mind. An amortization schedule is a table that reveals how the debt is going to be paid back and at what cost. For most ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.