Understanding Open House Broker Sittings

Published: June 12, 2025

Can a representative of a different brokerage sit at an open house? Are there things to consider if a broker attends an open house that is not affiliated with the brokerage? The Department of Real Estate (DRE) says yes; however, they caution against this practice.

What You Need To Know

When marketing a property, seller's brokers are agents of the seller and owe fiduciary duties to the seller. In addition to advertising and other marketing tools, an open house can be valuable for real estate brokers who are representing a seller of a property.

The real estate broker, or the broker's salespersons or broker associates as agents of the broker, represents the seller at the open house-to market the property to prospective buyers, highlight selling points of the property, learn of issues that prospective buyers are noting that can be reported back to the seller, and more.

While the Real Estate Law does not explicitly state that a broker unaffiliated with the seller's broker is prohibited from "sitting" at an open house for another broker, there are several red flags that are raised with this practice.

Things to Consider

Before a seller's broker considers allowing a representative of a different brokerage to sit at an open house for their listing, the following should be considered:

• Does the listing agreement allow the listing broker to have an agent unaffiliated with their brokerage sit at an open house?
• What are the seller's expectations?
• Would the seller agree to this practice?
• Will the other broker's agency relationship with the seller be disclosed and consented to by the seller?
• When a buyer walks in to view the property, who would they expect to see?
• How informed is the other broker about the property and the seller?
• Is there liability created by allowing a separate brokerage to sit at the open house?
• Is the activity covered by the other broker's errors and omissions insurance?
• Is the activity covered by the seller's broker's errors and omissions insurance? If not, what happens if the seller's broker performs activities that breach the insurance agreement?
• What happens if there is an incident on the property?
• Does the activity violate multiple listing service rules relating to marketing another broker's listing?
• Would the seller's broker allow a different broker to advertise or market their listing in any other manner such as in a multiple listing service, on a website, on social media, etc.?
• Does the practice honor the fiduciary duties that are owed to the seller by the seller's broker?

In considering all the above, DRE cautions against this practice. Please remember that the real estate profession is centered around agency and fiduciary duties, and real estate brokers and their agents must always consider and do what is best for their clients.