If you want to sell your property for the highest possible price without wasting a lot of time, wouldn’t it be best to use multiple agents rather than relying on just one? This is the reasoning of sellers who think the process is basically a numbers game. They are convinced that the more property agents they use, the sooner they’ll find a buyer who will pay the highest price.

This is the reason home sellers often give for refusing to sign an Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement, which would allow just one agent the right to market their property. But does this reasoning really hold water?

It is true that when multiple real estate agents are busy promoting your home under non-exclusive Estate Agency Agreements, your property listings will appear more frequently on websites like PropertyGuru. But is it quantity you need or are you looking for quality?

When considering your options, you need to know that an exclusive rights agreement is only valid for up to three months. After that you can engage another property agent if the results of your existing agent’s marketing efforts do not pan out. If you want a highly motivated agent to find you qualified buyers, a professional who will spend lot of time and money (i.e., ad budget) to market and showcase your home, giving them exclusive rights might make the most sense.

However, there are pros and cons of signing an Exclusive Rights Agreement with an agent to market your property, which must be considered.

But first things first…

Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement Explained

The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) governs the real estate industry in Singapore. Their regulations state that for a real estate agent to have legal authority to introduce a homeowner to prospective tenants or buyers, the homeowner and agent must both have signed either an Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement or a standard Estate Agency Agreement.

An Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement is a little different than a standard, non-exclusive Estate Agency Agreement in that the property owner agrees to authorise only a particular real estate agent or agency to introduce buyers or tenants to the owner over a stated period of time.

During the time that the Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement is in effect, if you the owner enter into an agreement to sell your property, you are required to pay a commission to the agent when the transaction is complete. This Agreement also stipulates that sellers are not allowed to engage any other real estate agents to market this property while the contract remains valid.

The seller may decide to reinstate the Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement with the agent or agency even if a qualified buyer was not found during the initial period of the Agreement. 

Copy of an Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement.

Pros of Giving an “Exclusive Rights” Agreement to an Agent

When you exclusively engage an agent, you will only have to work with a single agent or agency, instead of several. Here are the main benefits:

• Full Dedication: An agent engaged under an exclusive agreement understands that he/she will be the only agent working with you to sell your home. He/she is not concerned about another agent coming up with the right buyer and getting the commission. This means that he/she will likely devote more time, energy, and resources into marketing your property.
• More effective marketing: You’ve probably noticed how the quality of some property listings looks so much better than others. Great looking listing are often the result of the efforts of a highly motivated agent who has exclusive rights to market the property. Under these circumstances an agent will make sure the home is impeccably staged with lovely furniture. He/she will post top-quality photos and use the latest marketing tools like virtual tour and home tour video in order to attract more high-quality buyers. As an added bonus: You can stipulate in your exclusive agreement the type and extent of marketing and promotional services that will be provided. This may include specific marketing channel(s) and how frequently your ads will appear. Also, you can decide to terminate the contract if your agent fails to meet the marketing commitments stated in the agreement.
• Easy communication: It can be very time-consuming and complicated to have to coordinate and communicate with several agents and/or agencies. This cancels out the main benefits of engaging an agent to begin with, which are to save time and relieve stress. Using one agent is more straightforward and much easier all the way around.
• No duplicate listings: There are a few property websites that most agents use, so if you use multiple agents, odds are that duplicate listings of your property will appear on one or more of these sites. Over the years we’ve seen buyers get wary when they see the same property listed several times on the same site by multiple agents. This makes it seem like the seller is frantically trying to sell a property with serious issues. Properties with duplicate listings often remain unsold for much too long.
• More control over price: When you’re working with multiple agents, it can become harder to maintain your asking price. Agents often pressure sellers to lower their asking price in order to pull in more buyers. They do this because they’re competing with other agents to close the deal. You will have a much easier time controlling the price if you work exclusively with one agent. Since your agent would not be fearful of losing out to another agent, he/she is more motivated to sell at the highest possible price.

Cons of Giving an Agent an “Exclusive Rights” Agreement

The most obvious disadvantage of working exclusively with just one agent is that you cannot use multiple agents. But since it’s so much more work to do so and you might end up with low-quality duplicate listings on property websites, you have to question whether it’s even beneficial to use multiple agents.

But in certain situations, working exclusively with just one agent might have some disadvantages, as follows:

• You are stuck with one agent for at least three months: Theoretically, working exclusively with one agent results in better service and marketing. But all this depends on the efforts of the agent. If you sign with an agent who has a lot of other clients that he/she is giving priority to, is not a very savvy marketer, or doesn’t even bother to post your listing, you are locked in for the duration of the contract. 
• You owe an agent commission even if you sell the property some other way: If you find your own buyer, whether through friends or in some other way, you are still required to pay your agent a commission if you entered the sales contract while the agreement with your agent is still in effect. Therefore, you should not sign an exclusive agreement with any agent if you intend to also use other means to market your property because you’ll still have to pay the commission.

Although most indicators point towards agreeing to work exclusively with one agent, that isn’t the most important issue. When all is said and done, the most important thing you can do is find a dedicated agent you trust, someone who is willing to spend the time and energy it takes to effectively market your property.

After finding an agent you can trust, who has the desire and ability to do a great job marketing your property, giving him/her an exclusive rights agreement to sell your property makes perfect sense. But until you find such an agent, it would be better to try out several different agents. Once you find one you have confidence in, you may want to offer him/her an exclusive agreement. Until then, be selective in choosing the agents who will market your property and make sure it’s not too many.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you get the specific legal advice you need from an experienced attorney prior to taking any legal action. While we try our best to make sure that the information provided on our website is accurate, you take a risk by relying on it.

At Pinnacle Estate Agency, we strongly believe in sharing our real estate knowledge to the public.⁠ For more content like this article, check out our Singapore Property Guides.