Chris Cloete of Chas Everitt's assertion 'When more gets you less', cannot go unchallenged. If less is more, think how much more, more would be!

Whilst the traditional sole mandate is not necessarily a poor choice, both sellers and buyers gain optimal benefit where the seller enters into a multi-listing sole agency agreement.

Sellers and agents
What do sellers want from estate agents? Since it is common industry knowledge that the first couple of months of any mandate are critical, sellers want as many qualified feet as possible through their home during this period.

Simple probability theory tells us that if multiple estate agents show the home to all their qualified prospects, the probability of finding the right buyer early on must be greater than if just one agent is involved.

Crucially, since the home is still a fresh commodity during this period, both estate agents and prospects will have higher perceptions of competition and urgency and a sale is likely to be concluded not only within a shorter period of time, but also at a higher price.

Cloete however contends that "having several agents trying to sell your home at once will very likely both lengthen the time it takes to sell and lower the sale price."

In a multi-listing scenario, the listing agent takes on exactly the same duties and responsibilities as a sole agent, so the same effort and energy will be put into advertising and marketing the home. The difference is that not only is the home marketed to the target market but also to the agent's colleagues.

So Cloete’s contention that "Their primary motivation is thus not to market your property, but be the first to list it" makes no sense. In any event, a prudent seller considering either a traditional sole mandate or a multi-list sole mandate would do well to interview a few agents first before awarding the mandate.

Some agents are good at listing homes at competitive prices and others are good at showing homes to prospects. Few excel at both. Why would a seller potentially limit his potential by entrusting both legs of the marketing process to just one individual? In any event, there is no restriction on the listing agent selling the property and earning the full fee.

Buyers and agents
What do buyers want from an estate agent? They want to be able to settle on an individual who they feel comfortable with and who can quickly get a handle on their likes and dislikes.

Where a multi-list sole mandate is in place on a given property, agents will have already evaluated the home at the 'Agents Open Hour', and will be welcome participants in the marketing process and will therefore be in a position to efficiently and effectively show appropriate homes to their prospects in a seamless process. Where a traditional sole mandate is in place, the prospect has to disengage from the chosen agent and approach the sole mandate holder who in turn has to re-learn the likes and dislikes of the prospect all over again.

The reality of conventional sole mandates whether Cloete will admit to it or not, is that a great many of them are eventually concluded on the basis of an agent's shared deal, i.e. the very principles of multi-listing.

Finally, why is it that in the USA, the most sophisticated property market in the world and upon which our marketing methods are based, multi-listing mandates are the default choice?