For the longest time I have been a proponent of the idea that sellers should have a Real Estate broker and buyers too should have a separate broker. Under this system, both Real Estate parties have access to professional representation and both are hopefully equals in the market place.
Although the brokerage community has been very good about representing sellers, buyer representation has yet to catch up. The 2006 Profile of Buyers and Sellers from the National Association of Realtors shows that 44 percent of all purchasers had a written buyer brokerage agreement while 84 percent of all sellers listed with a broker.
Within the realm of buyer brokerage there are "buyer brokers" and "exclusive buyer brokers" or EBAs. Buyer brokers represent purchasers but in other transactions may represent sellers. Exclusive buyer brokers only represent purchasers and never list properties.
Over time there has been a lingering debate within the real estate community regarding which form of buyer brokerage is somehow "better," however it is that one measures such a concept. The discussion has been useful in the sense that it's raised a number of agency issues, but in the end one either is or is not exclusive and most licensees have opted for a non-exclusive practice model.
What virtually everyone does agree to is this: In a marketplace crowded with competitors, being an EBA gives one a way to stand out, to be different. From a marketing perspective, different can be very good -- after all, half the consumers in the real estate marketplace are buyers and only a small percentage of professionals are exclusive buyer brokers. The odds of a successful realty practice would seem to favor exclusive buyer brokers rather than listing brokers, all things being equal.
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