An independent RES exam study resource — not a Government website and not affiliated with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).Find My OrderHow to identify official CEA sources
Browse Papers
Home / Free RES questions / Listings and agency agreements
← All listings and agency agreements questions

Under an exclusive listing the owner who sells personally still owes the exclusive agent

A worked RES examination question on listings and agency agreements, from our Paper 2 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.

Paper 2Lesson 3Listings and agency agreementsFree — no sign-up

The question

A developer appoints only a small panel of chosen agencies to market units in a new launch and reserves the right to sell units directly from its own sales gallery. A separate homeowner appoints a single agent exclusively. The agent asks how a personal sale by the principal is treated under each arrangement, and whether the developer and the homeowner are in the same position when they find their own buyer. The trainee's instinct is that a principal who does the work himself should never have to pay, but the trainer says that instinct is only half right. Which statement is correct?

  1. A. Under the sole arrangement the developer still owes the panel on a personal sale, whereas under the exclusive arrangement the owner does not.
  2. B. Under both arrangements the principal may sell personally without owing any appointed agent commission.
  3. C. Under both arrangements the principal is entirely barred from selling the property personally.
  4. D. Sole: the developer may sell its own units without paying the panel. Exclusive: the owner still owes the agent.

The answer, and why

Answer: D

The rule. Under a sole (or joint-sole) marketing arrangement the principal — often a developer — may sell its own units without paying the panel. Under an exclusive listing the owner who sells personally still owes the exclusive agent. The two arrangements differ precisely on this point.

Why D is correct. Sole: developer may sell personally without paying the panel; exclusive: owner still owes.

The other options.

  • B treats both as escaping commission; the exclusive owner does not.
  • C bars personal sale under both; neither bars it outright.
  • A reverses the two arrangements.

Exam note. Sole/joint-sole principal escapes the panel on a personal sale; the exclusive owner does not escape the agent.

More on Listings and agency agreements

Read all Listings and agency agreements questions on one page →

Want a full paper instead of one question?

The free half-paper is 20 questions with a Section B case study, explained to this same depth. The paid sets are ten full 80-question papers across Paper 1 and Paper 2, every figure checked against the current IRAS, CEA, HDB, URA and SLA position.

Free 20-question paperThe papers in PDF

Looking for past-year papers? CEA doesn't publish them — here's what it does publish.

Independent study material. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Council for Estate Agencies. No pass guarantee — for study use only.