A listing agreement is a personal service contract. That means that should the principal broker or the seller die, or either party becomes incapacitated or the property is physically destroyed, such as by a fire or a natural disaster, the listing agreement is terminated.
The principal parties to the contract are the listing broker and the client. The client may be buyer, seller, landlord or tenant in the proposed transaction. Legally, the broker is the client's agent. The principal party on the other side of the transaction is a customer or a potential customer, called a prospect.
A listing agreement is “a legally binding contract that creates an agency relationship authorizing a broker to serve as the agent for a principal in a real estate transaction.” In other words, a listing agreement is an employment contract between a client and a broker that spells out what the broker is responsible for ...
A listing agreement authorizes the broker to represent the seller and their property to third parties. The listing agreement is an employment contract rather than a real estate contract: The broker is hired to represent the seller, but no property is transferred between the two.
A buyer's agency agreement is an employment contract between a buyer and a broker. This agreement outlines the terms and conditions of the relationship between the two parties.