“Out With the Old, In With the New”
To laymen, December 31 is known as New Year’s Eve.
To Realtors, December 31 represents . . . the biggest day of the year for listing contract expirations, by far (you’d guess June 30 is a distant second).
What does that mean?
Incumbent Realtors who aren’t discussing a contract extension with their clients very soon are most likely out as of that date.
Would-be Successors (“Realtor #2”)
The end of the year is also when would-be successor agents are stepping up their marketing, and targeting listings that are getting to be — or already are — “long in the tooth.”
Just not too aggressively: Realtor rules allow agents to discuss taking a new listing before the current one expires IF the home owner contacts them.
If it’s the other way around, Realtor #2 could be accused of tampering with the incumbent agent’s contract.
Similarly, home owners are always free to discuss canceling a listing contract with their current agent.
However, other agents generally must steer clear until the previous contract has been dissolved.
