{"id":17397,"date":"2025-07-02T04:19:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T11:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=17397"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:17:08","slug":"what-is-listing-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-listing-agent\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Listing Agent and Do You Need One to Sell Your Home?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve never sold a home \u2014 or if it\u2019s been a few years since you went through that process \u2014 the language of the real estate world might seem intimidating. Between acronyms such as MLS<\/a> and terms like \u201cbroker<\/a>\u201d and \u201cagent\u201d that people use interchangeably, it\u2019s enough to make you want to Google whatever you can before you put your house on the market.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s lend a hand by defining a listing agent. When you\u2019re selling your home, a listing agent is your main representative and contact. In fact, in 2024, 90% of sellers chose to use a listing agent<\/a>, data from the National Association of Realtors<\/a> (NAR) shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cA listing agent is somebody that exclusively represents the seller\u2019s best interests. Their ultimate goal is to sell the seller\u2019s home for the most money in the least amount of time,\u201d says Tom Heuser<\/a>, a top real estate agent in the Las Vegas, Nevada<\/a>, area who sells homes 40% faster than the average agent there.<\/p>\n

No wonder this person is a valuable guide. Here\u2019s a more detailed look at what a listing agent does \u2014 and how one can help you sell your home for the best price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
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\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

Step One: Talk to an Expert Listing Agent<\/h3>\n

It takes just two minutes to match you with the top-performing listing agents in your market. Our data shows that the top 5% of agents in the U.S. sell homes quicker and for as much as 10% more than the average agent.<\/p>\n \n

\n Get Started<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n

Listing agent vs selling agent: What\u2019s the difference?<\/h2>\n

In real estate terms, a \u201cselling agent\u201d actually represents the buyer. That sounds confusing, right? Wouldn\u2019t the selling agent represent the seller?<\/p>\n

Although we conversationally refer to a \u201cseller\u2019s agent\u201d or listing agent<\/a> as someone who represents the seller, the real estate world views a \u201cselling agent\u201d differently. A \u201cselling agent<\/a>\u201d (sometimes called a \u201ccooperating agent\u201d) is any agent who sells a property, the NAR says. In a sense, the \u201cselling\u201d agent may not list the property but is helping the property sell by bringing a buyer to the table. The key is in the suffix: \u2013er versus \u2013ing.<\/p>\n

Because they\u2019re on the opposite side of a real estate transaction, selling agents have opposing goals \u2014 mainly, to help the buyer purchase a home for the least amount of money and to negotiate so that the current owner or seller handles certain repairs, again saving the buyer money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you\u2019re selling your home, a listing agent is your main representative and contact. \u201cSelling agent\u201d is actually another term for \u201cbuyer\u2019s agent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":59835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[320,238],"tags":[754],"class_list":["post-17397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-add-value","category-working-with-agents","tag-real-estate-broker-vs-agent"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is a Listing Agent and Do You Need One to Sell Your Home?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When selling a home, a listing agent is your main representative and contact to help you sell your home faster and for more money.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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