Investment approach
An agency's own listings: how not to narrow your choice
An agency's listings exist to sell owners' properties, not to search for the buyer. What Catalan law says about the nota de encargo, why the listings are not the market and what to ask the agent.
An agency's "own listings" are the properties it sells on the owners' instructions, and they are always narrower than the market. In Catalonia an agent may not advertise someone else's property without a nota de encargo (a written instruction) signed with the owner (art. 55 and 58 Llei 18/2007, Catalonia's right-to-housing law). For comparison, between August 2025 and July 2026 the province of Barcelona registered 73,260 home sales (INE), and no single set of listings covers all of them.
What own listings are in the eyes of the law
Catalan housing law requires the agent, before starting the offer, to sign a nota de encargo with the owner (art. 55.5.b). It must state the agent's details and registry number, the owner, the term of the instruction, the offer price and the agent's fee (art. 55.6). Without such an instruction, advertising properties on someone else's account is forbidden (art. 58.5).
From this comes a simple definition. An agency's listings consist of its instructions from sellers, sometimes supplemented by partners' properties with whom it shares the commission. This is a normal part of the market, but it is assembled to sell specific flats, not to find the best flat for the buyer.
Why the listings narrow your choice
There are three reasons, and none requires ill intent.
Incentive. The agency is paid by the seller with whom it signed the instruction. A flat at the agency next door, even if it suits better, will bring it less or nothing.
A fragmented market. Barcelona has no single mandatory database of all offers. Flats are listed on different portals, with different agencies, sold directly or not advertised at all. How sales without advertising work is covered in the article on off-market property.
Fitting the brief. If nothing suitable is in the listings, the agent has a motive to widen the brief: another district, another floor, a slightly bigger budget. Sometimes that is sound advice, sometimes a way to sell what is on the shelf.
Then there is the problem of price. Five flats from one portfolio have nothing to be compared with except each other, while the market price is set by deals across the whole neighbourhood.
Where properties come from and what it means for the buyer
| Source of properties | Who pays the agent | What it means for the buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Sellers' instructions in the agency's listings | The seller, under the nota de encargo | The agent represents the seller |
| Partners' properties by exchange | The commission is split between agencies | Wider, but within the circle of partners |
| Portals | The seller's agency or the owner | The price history and time on the market are visible |
| Owners without an agency | Nobody, or by agreement | A full check of the documents is needed |
| Sales without publication | By agreement | No price reference, only nearby deals |
How to check the agency before you start searching
It is worth asking the questions before signing any contract, and getting the answers in writing.
- What is the agency's number in the Registre d'agents immobiliaris de Catalunya (the Catalan register of estate agents)? Under art. 59 Llei 18/2007 it must be stated in its advertising.
- Will the agency show a flat listed by another agency, and how is its work paid in that case?
- How many properties in the proposed list are not from its own instructions?
- Does the agency receive anything from the seller or the seller's agent for this deal? Under art. 55.6.i, remuneration from both sides of the same transaction is allowed only with express consent.
- How will the price be confirmed: by nearby deals or by the sellers' price list?
How to recognise a dual interest in a deal is covered in the article on conflicts of interest, and who represents whom in the article seller's agent and buyer's agent.
What advertising and the nota de encargo give the buyer
The limits of the listings have a useful side too. Under art. 58.4, the details of the flat stated in the advertising can be demanded by the buyer from the seller, even if they are not in the contract. And before signing any document with the buyer, the agent must check the owner's details, the title and the encumbrances in the register (art. 55.7).
So it is worth saving a screenshot of the listing and the agent's written answers: the area, condition, floor and other characteristics from the advertising become part of the expectations of the deal. Who pays the agency's commission on a purchase is described in the article on commission.
When searching only the listings does not work
Searching one set of listings does not work when the buyer needs the best flat for a specific brief and a price confirmed by deals, not by the sellers' price list. Then the list is drawn up across the whole market: portals, other agencies, owners directly and sales without publication.
There are exceptions. The listings do not narrow your choice if it is already limited by the property itself: a new build that the developer sells through a single agency, or a specific flat the buyer has already found. Nor do they get in the way of an experienced buyer who compares prices against deals independently and uses the agency as one more shop window. How DNPI searches for and selects properties across the whole market is described in the section on the approach.
Questions and answers
Is a large agency listing book an advantage for the buyer?
For the seller yes, for the buyer not necessarily. A large listing book means the agency sells a lot, but not that it contains a suitable flat.
Can an agency advertise a flat without a contract with the owner?
Not in Catalonia. Llei 18/2007 forbids advertising properties on someone else's account without a nota de encargo signed with the owner.
Can the agent take a commission from both the seller and the buyer?
Under art. 55.6.i of Llei 18/2007, remuneration from both sides of the same transaction is allowed only by express agreement. If the agent is paid by both parties, it is worth asking about it in writing.
Can I work with several agencies at once?
Yes, if there is no exclusive instruction contract. The downside is that you will have to collate the offers, compare the prices and watch for duplicates yourself.
Why does an agency not want to show another agency's property?
For someone else's property it will earn less or nothing. That follows from whom it works for, not from an attitude to the buyer.
