In a standard listing agreement, to whom does the listing broker owe fiduciary duties?
Correct Answer
B) The seller
In a standard listing agreement, the listing broker enters into an agency relationship exclusively with the seller. This means the broker owes full fiduciary duties — including loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, reasonable care, and accounting — solely to the seller. The broker must act in the seller's best interest throughout the transaction. The buyer is treated as a customer, not a client, unless a separate buyer-agency agreement is established.
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Related Topics & Key Terms
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Key Terms:
Related Concepts
A practice where the agent or brokerage represents only one party in a transaction — either the buyer or the seller, but never both.
A relationship where a listing broker authorizes other brokers to act as agents of the seller, extending the seller's agency relationship to cooperating brokers.
A non-agency relationship where the broker facilitates a real estate transaction without representing either party, owing limited duties of honesty, fairness, and competence to both.
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