Listing with several agencies at once feels like it should widen your exposure. In practice it usually narrows it, and the reason is structural rather than moral: under a general agency, no agent can justify spending money on marketing a property another agent might sell. Before going further, the obvious disclosure — we are an agency, and agencies prefer sole agency. Read the reasoning below and judge it on its merits.
What Changes Under a General Agency
- Marketing investment collapses. An agent who spends several thousand dollars on photography, video and premium portal placement may watch a competitor sell the property and take the commission. The rational response is to spend nothing, which is why generally-listed properties so often appear online with basic photos and a thin listing.
- The incentive shifts from price to speed. With several agents racing, the win condition stops being "the highest price" and becomes "the first signed contract". A seller feeling gentle pressure to accept an early, modest offer is experiencing that incentive working exactly as designed.
- Buyers read it as weakness. A property appearing under multiple agencies signals a vendor without a strategy, and buyers adjust their opening offers accordingly.
What a Sole Agency Should Buy You
Exclusivity is not a favour to the agent — it is what makes a proper campaign financeable and accountable. In return you should expect a written marketing plan with real spend behind it, one named person responsible for the result, scheduled reporting whether or not there is good news, and a defined term so the accountability has an end date.
Protect Yourself With the Term, Not the Structure
The genuine risk in a sole agency is being locked to an underperforming agent. The answer is not a general agency — it is a sensible term length and a clear written plan. Ask what happens if the campaign is not working at week three, and get the answer before you sign, not after.
Eric Wu has 18 years in East Auckland real estate and more than 500 transactions across multiple market cycles, working in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Request a free appraisal and ask us those questions directly.