Listing Agreement

A listing agreement is an employment contract between a property owner and a real estate broker that authorizes the broker to locate a buyer or tenant for a specific property. Listing agreements may be written, oral, or implied; however, under the statute of frauds, any listing agreement with a term longer than one year must be in writing to be legally enforceable.Although Florida law allows oral listing agreements, best practice is to use a written agreement. If a dispute, default, or breach occurs, written agreements make it much easier to prove the terms and conditions than relying on oral testimony.A real estate sales associate’s authority comes from the broker. Even though a sales associate may perform most or all of the services under the listing, the listing itself belongs to the broker. Sales associates act on behalf of the broker when working with listing agreements and are not permitted to enter into listing agreements directly with property owners.