You’ve likely seen a sign that advertises exclusive real estate offerings in your neighbourhood and wondered how is that type of sale different than any regular old listing?

An exclusive listing means a seller is giving the agent and their brokerage firm exclusive or special access to find a buyer for their home. With this type of arrangement only the listing agent or agents with the brokerage firm can present offers on your home because only the listing agent is entitled to the commission.

When you sign such an agreement with the listing realtor, it usually outlines a time frame in which the realtor has to sell your home. Once the time has passed, the seller can list their home on the Multiple Listings Service (MLS), which is the real estate listing service that is open to all real estate agents.

So why would a seller want an exclusive listing if it sets limits on the number of people who would potentially see your home? Isn’t the point of a sale to advertise the offering far and wide with the hope of generating a high level of interest, which in turn drives up the price of the home?

That depends. While listing your home on the MLS increases the number of eyeballs who will see your home, the point of an exclusive listing for many is staging a more private sale. For a multitude of reasons – divorce, job loss or perhaps sellers who are high profile members of the community – some sellers don’t want it widely broadcasted that they are planning to make a move.

It’s also believed that exclusive listings can elicit better quality offers as often realtors who contract exclusive listings do so because they have select buyers in mind.

Finally, in some cases, commissions on these types of sales are sometimes lower as the real estate professional does not have to pay the MLS fees. This can bode well for both the seller and buyer.