Dual agency, commission levels and the eff ect on sale price in residential real estate market：

a questionnaire survey on real estate brokers in Japan

Abstract

In residential real estate market, the agent has an incentive to steer her clients to her own listing or buyers rather than offering the best value transaction, which derives from allowing dual agency and information asymmetry among buyers, sellers and agents. We estimated commission levels and sale prices of real estate brokers by questionnaire survey, and found that seven out of ten brokers are making dual-agency deals and lowering sale prices. We couldnʼt find any effects of the number of employees, location of office and major types of contract on dual agency.