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Listing Agent vs Selling Agent: What's the Difference?

Jerry Norton

Apr 17, 2024

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With so many terms, paperwork and processes, real estate — whether you’re looking to buy or sell a home or an investment property — can be complex. 

During the process, you may be faced with choosing a listing agent or selling agent. 

What’s the difference between the two? 

We’ll break it down in this article so that you can not only make the best decision for your situation, but also so that you can increase your real estate IQ. 

Listing Agent vs Selling Agent: What’s the Difference?

While both listing agents and selling agents facilitate real estate transactions, they focus on opposite sides of the process.

Here’s what we mean: A listing agent helps to list, market and sell a home. On the other hand, a selling agent helps you find and buy a property. 

We’ll break down their intricacies next. 

What is a Listing Agent? 

A listing agent focuses on listing properties for sale. This means representing you as a seller by promoting the property to buyers through house showings and open houses, and take care of all the paperwork involved.

If you’re looking for a real estate agent to help you sell your house or your investment property, a listing agent will be the route to go. 

They will work closely with you to determine the best asking price for the property and create a listing that attracts potential buyers. 

What is a Selling Agent?

In contrast to the listing agent, the selling agent represents the other end of the transaction: the buyer.

If you’re looking to buy a property, a selling agent will understand your interests, help build a list of properties for you to tour and will guide you through the purchase process, including negotiating the contract on your behalf. 

The Bottom Line: Listing Agent Vs Selling Agent

There you have it: the difference between a listing agent and selling agent. 

While they both work as real estate agents, they work on different ends of the process to help facilitate deals.

Whether you're buying or selling a property and you're interested in the services of a real estate agent, it's important to choose the right one.

If you're looking to grow your real estate IQ, don't stop with this article. Explore our other guides to an escalation clause, what a leasehold estate is, what disposition in real estate means, and more.