What Is an Open Listing in Real Estate: br br Calculate Your Buyer Closing Costs: br br An open listing is a property listing where the owner has not agreed to exclusively list with any broker, but has agreed to allow brokers to list their property on a non-exclusive basis. This means that the broker will only be able to collect a commission if he or she finds a buyer or tenant, and the owner can always find their own buyer and not owe any commission. br br What Is an Exclusive Listing vs an Open Listing? br br An exclusive listing is just as it sounds, a real estate listing where one broker exclusively lists and markets the property for sale or rent. There are actually two common variants of exclusive listings: br br Exclusive Right to Sell or Rent – This is the most common type of sale listing. The listing broker is the only one who can list and market the property, and will collect commission regardless of who finds the buyer or tenant. If the buyer is represented by a broker, the listing broker will typically split the commission with the buyer’s broker. br br Exclusive Agency – This type of listing agreement is less common. The listing broker is still the only person who can list and market the property. However, if the owner finds a buyer or tenant by themselves, they do not owe any commission to the listing broker. br br Are Open Listings Common for Rentals? br br Yes. Open listings are predominantly seen in the rental market vs the sales market, and especially so when it comes to large, landlord buildings in NYC. These landlord buildings are essentially entire apartment buildings that are owned by one landlord, and where all or almost all of the units are rentals. br br While many individually owned condo and co-op apartments will still be listed exclusively by a single broker, most large rental buildings will not have an exclusive listing agent. br br This is because these landlords are institutional in nature, and have a history of paying commission to brokers for bringing renters. As a result, they don’t need a broker to list it on their behalf in the REBNY RLS, because doing so essentially provides credibility. br br Furthermore, many of the building landlords don’t want to bother with marketing their own properties, and the associated expenses with doing so. br br Are Open Listings Common for Sales? br br Open listings are very rare in the residential sales market, primarily because most MLS broker databases and even many public websites won’t allow anything but exclusive sales listings. As a result, buyers typically have an easier time navigating the sales market because there is only one agent listing each property, which results in far less confusion vs the rental market.