Selling your property in Portugal? 5 reasons to choose an exclusive mediation contract.

30/11/2021

An exclusivity contract brings peace and relaxation to the sales process

Real estate brokerage in Portugal looks very different from most Northern European countries.

Firstly, real estate agents in Portugal are usually listing and selling agents at the same time. This means that the real estate agent who lists and promotes the property is typically the same person as the real estate agent who finds and represents the buying customers.

Second, most brokers in Portugal operate with an open, non-exclusive regime. This means that you do not only have to sell your house through this broker, but you can also choose to put your property on the market through many other brokers.

This last option is also the most popular choice for the selling customer in Portugal. 'The more brokers promote my home, the better, right?' is the thought. Let us explain here with 5 reasons why this thought is not correct.

An exclusive brokerage contract gives the broker the opportunity to invest in promoting your property.

Only with an exclusive brokerage contract can the broker be sure to receive at least 50% of the agreed commission. This enables the broker to invest in the promotion of your property. Think of listing your property on popular portals such as Idealista or Casa Sapo or paying for online and offline advertisements. No broker without an exclusivity contract can afford this investment. Firstly, he or she is not sure that the house will be sold by him or her at all and secondly, he or she also risks paying advertising from which other brokers reap the benefits.

Working exclusively with one broker gives more exposure of your property in the market

This point is often misunderstood by the selling customers. As described earlier, real estate agents cannot or hardly invest in the promotion of your home on the basis of a non-exclusive brokerage contract. After a while, they regularly lose interest in your property. They therefore have little responsibility and are reassured that if they fail to sell your property, another broker will. In this way, it does not help or accelerate the sale if your house is on the market through twenty of these brokers.

A broker with an exclusive brokerage contract will invest in the promotion of your home. In fact, he shares the information of the availability of your property with his or her network of fellow brokers. As with a non-exclusive broker, your house is therefore not only offered to his or her own clientele, but to the clientele of many other brokers. A broker who works with exclusive brokerage contracts never counts on 100% of the agreed commission. He counts on the possibility that another broker can also bring him or her the buying customer.

One contact person, one price and centralised information

For you as a selling customer, this point is perhaps the biggest advantage. Instead of communicating with ten brokers, you have a single broker as contact person with an exclusivity contract. He or she shares his commission with other real estate agents to sell your house as quickly as possible. All the 'benefits' of a non-exclusive contract, but without the 'stress' of working with multiple brokers.

Without an exclusive brokerage contract, the investment in disclosure, information sharing with other market players and distinctive service is almost always inferior as there is no guarantee of profit for non-exclusive brokers.

So who benefits most from signing an exclusive contract? You, the owner

An exclusive brokerage contract delivers the best deal for you

Here again, selling customers often misunderstand the term 'exclusiveness'. An exclusive brokerage contract does not give exclusivity to the sale of your property. An exclusive brokerage contract only gives exclusivity on the promotion and marketing of your property. Because a broker represents you exclusively, he invests more time and money in the promotion and marketing of your home, in the knowledge that, even if he is not the selling broker, he is guaranteed to receive a part of the commission. Brokers with an open, non-exclusive contract do not have this guarantee.

Brokers with a non-exclusive brokerage contract do not have this guarantee and can never make the promotion, marketing and follow-up of the sales process with the same dimension, because they have no guarantee of the profit on the sale of your property.

Because a broker with an exclusive brokerage contract has full responsibility for the sales process of your property, and represents you as the owner (and not the buying client), this broker is also by your side until the end and defends your interests.

If you have your home promoted by several brokers on a non-exclusive basis, these brokers often try to force deals to avoid losing the buyer. These brokers are under pressure and put this pressure on you as well. This rarely results in a good deal. A broker with an exclusive contract does not have this pressure, and therefore does not have to put pressure on you.

The right feedback and the most truthful information

Because all visits go through the broker with the exclusivity contract, he also has the most perfect and complete overview of the feedback from the customers. He immediately recognizes negative points and sales inhibitors and can remove them in consultation with you. He can also adjust the description of your property according to the reality of your house or home. The result: there will be fewer visits from clients who are ultimately not looking for this type of property (and therefore are not the right clients for your property). Together with the fact that other brokers know that there is an exclusivity contract on this house, this provides more overview and peace of mind in the sales process. You will not be harassed on a daily basis by brokers who offer you an open brokerage contract, and you will not receive visits from unqualified clients.

With an exclusive contract, there is only one strategy and only one property for sale. In the case of a non-exclusive promotion of your property, it is described in different ways by the different brokers and even, at times, published with different prices.

Buyers often think that they are different properties with similar characteristics. Due to the law of supply and demand, the subjective value of your property decreases as a result.

The information provided to the market by an exclusive broker is consistent, diligent and truthfully represents the property.

Do you have questions about buying or selling real estate in Portugal? Please feel free to contact us without any obligation. We are happy to help you.