What is an Open Listing?

An open listing is a type of real estate listing that allows more than one agent to sell a property. With an open listing, the seller of a property is not obligated to work with a particular real estate agent; the seller agrees to provide a commission to whichever agent provides a buyer for the property. One of the benefits of an open listing is that an individual can lower the total amount of commission paid. One of the drawbacks of this type of listing is that the homeowner will be responsible for marketing the property.

When a homeowner wants to sell a property, he or she can choose from a number of different listing options. Some options allow a real estate agent to have an exclusive contract to sell the property, while others allow multiple agents to sell it. With an open listing, anyone can sell the property and receive the commission.

With this type of arrangement, there is no listing agent. Any agent that finds a buyer for the property is viewed as a buyer's agent. If a real estate agent finds a buyer for the property, the homeowner will pay that agent a commission. With an open listing, the owner of the property could also locate a buyer himself, and would not have to pay a commission as long as the buyer is not working with a real estate agent.

One of the primary benefits of going with this type of listing is that the seller can lower the amount of commission that is due. With this type of system, individuals will not have to worry about paying a listing agent. Homeowners will only have to pay a commission to the agent who is representing the buyer of the property. In most cases, a full real estate commission amounts to about 6% of the selling price. If the homeowner only has to pay the buyer's agent, this commission will usually be cut in half.

Even though home sellers can save money with an open listing, it will require them to do more work. Since the seller does not have a listing agent, he or she will be responsible for marketing the property. Buyer's agents will bring potential buyers to the property, but the homeowner will be responsible for getting the word out to the market about the house. This means that homeowners will need to be comfortable with basic marketing skills to make it work.