When One Real Estate Agent Represents Both Sides, Who Represents You?

Picture this: you’re selling the most valuable thing you own – your home. You hire a professional to protect your interests and get you the highest possible price. What you may not realize is that, in many transactions, that same professional is also working for the person on the other side of the table – the buyer.

It’s called working both sides or double-dipping, and in Florida it’s perfectly legal. It’s also one of the least-understood risks a home seller faces.

After more than three decades in this industry – as an agent, a broker, a national trainer, and a consultant who has sat in the strategy rooms of some of the country’s largest real estate brokerages – I can tell you this quietly drives outcomes that most sellers never see coming.

The math is no longer a matter of opinion

In May, Zillow released an analysis of more than 15 million home sales. The finding was striking: when a single agent or brokerage represented both the buyer and the seller, sellers collectively lost an estimated $1.49 billion over three years. Here in Florida, the cost to sellers reached roughly $217 million.

That’s not a rounding error. That’s real money leaving the pockets of real families – an average of more than $2,000 per transaction – for one simple reason: the current structure of real estate is flawed. It’s not bad agents; it’s a bad structure. It puts the financial incentive in the wrong place, leaving the seller at risk.

Why does this happen?

Consider the structure. When an agent represents only you, the seller, their job is singular and clear: get you the best possible price and terms. But when that same agent also represents the buyer, they stand to collect a commission from both sides of the deal. The harder they push for your price, the more they risk the buyer walking away... and taking half their paycheck with them.

You don’t have to assume bad intent to see the problem. You only have to follow the incentives. An economist would call it asymmetric information and divided loyalty. A homeowner should simply call it a conflict of interest – and one that’s working against them.

What every seller should do before signing anything

You have more power here than you think. Before you list your home, ask your agent three direct questions: First, “Will you or your brokerage ever represent both me and my buyer in this sale?” Get the answer in writing.

Second, “If a buyer comes to you directly, how will you protect my interests?” Listen carefully to whether the answer centers on you or on closing the deal.

Third, “Is my listing being marketed to every qualified buyer, or only to buyers inside your own network?” Private, in-house listings can quietly limit competition for your home – and less competition almost always means a lower price.

A seller armed with these three questions is far harder to disadvantage than one who simply trusts the process.

The good news

The industry is beginning to respond. A new fiduciary, seller-only model is emerging – one where the company representing the seller is structurally prevented from also representing the buyer, removing the conflict entirely rather than merely disclosing it in fine print.

You don’t need a study to tell you that the person negotiating on your behalf should be loyal to you alone. But now you have one, thanks to Zillow.

Dan Elzer is a nationally recognized real estate speaker, trainer, and consultant with more than 35 years in the industry. He is the CEO of Sovera Realty Group, which features fiduciary protections for home sellers. Dan can be reached at Dan@DanElzer.com, 407-256-7056, or SoveraRealty.com.