Anyone who has bought a house has likely spent an afternoon with a real estate agent, being driven from one property to the next. Anyone who has sold a home has probably been visited by an agent with potential bidders in tow.
But buyers might have unwittingly revealed their innermost bargaining secrets -- not realizing the agent worked for the seller. Sellers, on the other hand, might have assumed an agent represented buyers inspecting their home -- never knowing they could be held responsible for the agent's actions.
Over the years, confusion over who works for whom in a real estate deal has prompted a spate of lawsuits, laws and regulations that have begun to reshape the way agents do business. A new breed -- the buyer's agent -- has emerged.
More and more buyers are turning to these specialized agents for help finding and purchasing a home. In the Baltimore area, buyer agency has soared in popularity since Jan. 1, when agents in Maryland were first required to explain to buyers the various forms of agency representation.
Clients can choose the traditional route. Sellers pay agents a commission for marketing and showing a home and negotiating a deal on the seller's behalf. If an agent from another real estate company finds a buyer, that agent, known as the co-operating or sub-agent, splits the commission.
Consumer groups and some in the real estate industry have criticized that arrangement as fraught with conflict. For one thing, many consumers fail to realize that co-operating agents work with buyers but are paid by and represent the interests of sellers.
Now, under the state's new disclosure law, buyers are being told they can opt for their own agent, and many are making that choice.
Use of the service has mushroomed at Coldwell Banker Grempler Realty Inc. since the law took effect, said President D. R. Grempler. More than 250 buyers looking for homes through the Towson-based company have chosen a buyer's agent so far this year. That's more than in any month in the three years since the company began offering the option, Mr. Grempler said.
"The sales people need to be comfortable with it, and the agents are getting more comfortable with it," he said.
Georgianna Tyler, who represents buyers for her Georgianna Tyler & Co. and sells properties for W. H. C. Wilson and Co., said about 75 percent of agents she sees working with buyers now work as buyer's agents, compared with about 25 percent last year.
