Why Work With a Realtor on the Biggest Purchase You Will Make

For most families in Orange County, the house is the largest financial asset they will ever own. It usually holds more of their net worth than every retirement account combined, and it changes hands under a contract that runs to dozens of pages, with deadlines that expire whether or not anyone is paying attention.

That is the whole argument for working with a Realtor, really. You are about to move a very large amount of money through a process you might repeat four or five times in your life, while the person across the table may do it every month.

A good Realtor brings price knowledge drawn from what has actually sold, access to homes you may not find on your own, a negotiator who has sat across from the other side many times before, and someone who has read the contract enough times to know which paragraph is about to cost you money. The rest of this guide takes those apart one at a time, and it is honest about where the value is real and where it depends on the person you hire.

I will also say where I land. I think working with a Realtor should be the default for almost every buyer and seller in this county, and the exceptions are narrower than the internet suggests. I have seen do it yourself sales go well. I have also been called in afterwards to help untangle the ones that did not.

Realtor or Real Estate Agent: What the Words Actually Mean

People use the three words interchangeably, and in conversation that is fine. On paper they mean different things, and the difference is worth thirty seconds of your time before you hire anyone.

In California, anyone who represents you in a home purchase or sale for a fee has to hold a license from the Department of Real Estate, either as a salesperson working under a broker or as a broker. The DRE runs a free public lookup where you can type in a name and confirm the license, and it also publishes the disciplinary actions it has taken against licensees[2]. I would check both for anyone you are about to trust with a seven figure transaction. It takes less time than reading their reviews.

“Realtor” is something else. It is a membership mark. According to the National Association of REALTORS, only NAR members can call themselves a REALTOR, and members voluntarily subscribe to the association’s Code of Ethics, which was adopted in 1913 and was one of the first codes of ethical duties written by any business group[1]. Members also have to complete ethics training every three years[1].

Does the membership matter? Somewhat. The license is the legal floor. The Code of Ethics adds an enforceable professional standard on top of it, and it gives you a complaint path through the local association if something goes wrong. What matters more, in my experience, is how the individual actually works, which is what the rest of this guide is about.

What a Realtor Owes You Under California Law

This is the part most people never read, and it is the part that explains why representation is worth paying for.

California requires every agent to hand clients a written agency disclosure, and the form spells out the duties in plain language. An agent who represents you, whether you are the seller under a listing agreement or the buyer who has chosen an agent to work only for them, owes you a fiduciary duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty and loyalty[3]. That agent also owes both sides of the transaction honest and fair dealing, along with the other baseline duties in the table below, including disclosure of known facts that materially affect the value or desirability of the property[3].

Notice what that means for the other side. The listing agent across the table owes you honesty. They do not owe you loyalty. Their loyalty belongs to the seller, and that is exactly how it should be.

There is a second statute buyers should know about. For homes of one to four units, Civil Code section 2079 requires the listing broker, and any broker who cooperates with them, to conduct a reasonably competent and diligent visual inspection of the property and to disclose to a prospective buyer the material facts that such an inspection would reveal[4]. It is a visual inspection, not a home inspection, and it does not replace your own inspector. It does mean a licensed professional has walked the property with a legal duty to tell you what they saw.

Getting the Best Price When You Sell

Whether you are buying or selling a home, a Realtor is the person most likely to get you to the right number, and on the selling side that work starts long before the sign goes up.

The comparative market analysis

Before we discuss a list price, I prepare a comparative market analysis: the homes near yours that have actually closed, the ones in escrow, the active listings you will compete with, and the ones that sat and then cut their price. The point is that you know the top of your market value and do not sell for less than the home is worth. In a tract in Irvine or Mission Viejo with dozens of near identical floor plans, comps are tight and the analysis is fast. In Newport Beach or Laguna Beach, where two houses on the same street can differ by a view corridor and a lot line, the analysis is mostly judgment, and that judgment is what you are paying for.

Where to put your money before listing

A good agent will also tell you where to spend money on repairs and renovations, and, just as often, where not to. I talk sellers out of kitchen remodels more often than I talk them into one. Fresh paint and a roof that does not raise questions in the inspection report usually return more than a new countertop. We cover that in detail in our guide to how to sell your house for the most money.

Presentation and marketing

Then the house gets prepared. Staging and professional photography make the listing stand out, and the marketing plan puts it in front of the largest pool of buyers. More buyers is what produces the strongest offer. One buyer is a conversation. Four buyers is a market.

Sellers often ask what all of this costs. Commissions are negotiated between you and your broker, and the other expenses vary by property, so we walk through a full net sheet before you sign anything. Our breakdown of how much it costs to sell a house in Orange County shows the line items.

Paying the Right Price When You Buy

Buyers face the mirror image of the same problem. The asking price is the seller’s opinion. Your Realtor’s job is to tell you what the house is actually worth.

That means pulling what has sold in the area, adjusting for the differences (square footage, lot, condition, the busy street, the school boundary line) and arriving at a market value for the home you are looking at. It is the same analysis a listing agent does, run from the other side of the table.

The second half of the buyer’s protection is the inspection period. Your agent should go through the home inspection report with you line by line, so you understand which items are cosmetic and which are the kind of deficiency that changes the price. A cracked tile is a cracked tile. A sewer line full of roots is a five figure conversation, and you want to have it while you still have a contingency.

All of this exists for one reason: so you do not overpay for a home because you did not know what to look for. First time buyers feel this most, which is why we wrote 10 things every first time home buyer should know.

• Ask your agent for the comps behind their value opinion rather than the number alone.
• Read the seller’s disclosures before you write the offer when they are available.
• Attend the inspection, or at least the last half hour of it.
• Get repair estimates for anything structural, or anything involving the sewer line, before the contingency expires.
• In Irvine and other master planned areas, ask about Mello-Roos and HOA dues before you fall in love with the payment.

Access to More Homes Than You Will Find Alone

If you are looking to purchase, a Realtor may have access to more properties than you do.

Some homes reach agents before they reach the public websites. A seller may be preparing to list and willing to let a few qualified buyers walk through first. Another agent in the same brokerage may have a listing that is not on the open market yet. None of that is guaranteed, and how much of it exists depends on the brokerage and the local rules at the time, but in a tight market a first viewing can be the difference between writing an offer and reading about the sale.

Just as useful is range. A good agent will show you different areas and types of homes, from resale to new construction and from detached houses to condominiums, so you can test assumptions you did not know you had. I have watched buyers who were certain they wanted a single family house in Huntington Beach end up in a townhome in Costa Mesa because the commute math changed once they saw both. I have also watched it go the other way.

The result is that you see more of the market than you would searching alone, and you see it with someone who can tell you why a house has been sitting for ninety days.

Negotiation: Where a Realtor Earns the Fee

This is the section I would point to if I could only keep one.

A Realtor has likely negotiated many times before on getting the best price for a property, and those skills work to your benefit. They also bring something you cannot easily get on your own: the sales history of the area, which is the backbone of any serious counteroffer. Negotiating by yourself, with no past experience and no comparable sales, is unlikely to get you the price you want.

Price is only the first round. The real negotiation in an Orange County escrow usually happens later: the request for repairs after the inspection, the credit in lieu of repairs, the appraisal that comes in short, the rent back when the seller needs two more weeks. Each of those is money, and each of them is negotiated under a deadline.

Why separate representation matters at the table

California law allows one agent to represent both sides only with the knowledge and consent of both parties, and even then the agent may not tell the buyer, for example, that the seller is willing to accept less than the listing price without the seller’s express permission[3]. That rule protects confidences. It also means a dual agent cannot push for either side the way a single agent can. My opinion is straightforward: if the negotiation is likely to be hard, each side should have its own agent.

For a seller’s view of this, see how to choose a Realtor to sell your home, which is built around the way an agent handles the very first offer.

The Contract and the Paperwork Nobody Reads

There is a lot to know in a real estate transaction, from clauses to closing to taxes and lawyers and everything in between. Without a qualified professional beside you, small mistakes can cost a substantial amount of money over time.

A California residential purchase runs on standardized forms and a calendar of contingency deadlines. Miss the date to remove the loan contingency and you may have put your deposit at risk. Sign the wrong addendum and a seller credit can disappear. None of that is exotic. It is the ordinary paperwork of the deal, and it is why the agent’s familiarity with the forms matters as much as their charm at a showing.

The buyer representation agreement

Buyers in California now sign a written agreement with their agent. Under Civil Code section 1670.50, a buyer’s agent and the buyer must execute a buyer broker representation agreement as soon as practicable, and no later than the time the buyer signs an offer to purchase[5]. The agreement must cover, at a minimum, the broker’s compensation, the services to be provided, when compensation is due and how the contract can be terminated[5].

The same section caps the term at three months from the date the agreement is made, and it does not renew automatically: a renewal has to be in writing and signed by all parties[5]. An agreement that breaks those duration rules is void and unenforceable[5]. The three month cap does not apply when the buyer is a business entity, such as a corporation or a partnership[5].

I like this rule. It forces the conversation about services and pay to happen at the start, in writing, which is where it belonged all along. Read the agreement. Ask what happens if you want to stop working together. A good agent will answer that without flinching.

What Changed After the NAR Settlement

The original version of this post was written before the National Association of REALTORS settled the nationwide commission lawsuits, so this section is new.

NAR says that under the practice changes that took effect on August 17, real estate professionals nationwide require a written agreement with a buyer before touring a home[6]. Sellers can still choose to offer compensation to a buyer’s agent, or authorize their own agent to offer it, but that is now a choice to discuss rather than an assumption[6]. NAR also publishes a consumer guide on negotiating an agreement for services and compensation with a REALTOR[6].

What does that mean for you in practice?

1. Buyers: expect to sign an agreement before your first private showing, and expect your agent to explain what they will do and how they will be paid.
2. Sellers: decide with your listing agent whether to offer buyer agent compensation, and understand how that choice may affect the pool of buyers who come through.
3. Both sides: treat compensation as one term of the deal, alongside price and credits. It can come up in negotiation, and it often does.
4. Everyone: get the arrangement in writing before money or showings are involved.

We wrote a full explainer at the time, the NAR lawsuit settlement: what home buyers and sellers need to know. My view has not changed since: the settlement made the value of representation something agents have to explain out loud, and good agents should welcome that.

How Many Buyers and Sellers Still Use a Realtor

If working with a Realtor were optional in practice, you would expect a lot of people to skip it. The national data says otherwise.

NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, which surveyed people whose transactions closed between July 2024 and June 2025, found that 88% of all buyers purchased through an agent or broker, rising to 92% for buyers of previously owned homes[7]. On the other side, 91% of sellers used an agent, which NAR reports as the highest share on record[7].

The same report puts the median first time buyer at 40 years old, a record high, with repeat buyers at a median of 62[7]. Older, more experienced buyers still choose representation. That tells you something.

A caveat, since this is NAR’s own survey: it is a mailed questionnaire with a modest response rate[7], and the association has an obvious interest in the answer. I read it as a direction rather than a precise count. The direction is clear enough.

When Going Without a Realtor Can Work

I promised to be honest about the exceptions, so here they are.

A sale between family members who already agree on the price, with a real estate attorney drafting the documents and an escrow company handling the closing, can work without an agent. So can a sale to a tenant who has lived in the house for years and knows its every flaw. In both cases the hardest parts of the agent’s job, finding the buyer and negotiating the price, have already happened.

Where I see people get hurt is the middle ground. The seller who lists without representation and then discovers that every buyer who calls has an agent of their own, and that agent’s duty of loyalty runs to the buyer[3]. The buyer who falls for a house at an open house and lets the listing agent write the offer without understanding what dual representation allows and does not allow. Neither of those is a disaster every time. Both of them leave money on the table more often than not.

If you are seriously considering going it alone, at least pay for a professional opinion of value and a real estate attorney’s review of the contract. That is the minimum.

How to Choose the Right Realtor for You

Everything above assumes a good agent. Not every licensee is one, so the hiring decision deserves the same care as the house.

• Look the person up on the DRE’s public license lookup and check the disciplinary actions list[2].
• Ask how many transactions they closed in the last two years in your specific area, not county wide.
• Ask for a recent comparative market analysis they prepared, with the address removed, to see how they think.
• Ask who will actually answer your calls during escrow, the agent or someone on their team.
• Ask how they handle a low appraisal, and listen for a specific answer.
• Read the listing or buyer representation agreement before the meeting ends, including how you can terminate it.

Specialty matters more than most people think. Selling a trust property, a probate estate, a conservatorship home or a house in a divorce involves court rules, fiduciary duties and timelines that a general practice agent may meet once a year. Luxury homes in Newport Coast or Shady Canyon have their own buyer pool and their own pace. If your situation has a label, find someone who works under that label every week. Our guide to choosing a luxury real estate agent in Orange County goes deeper on that kind of interview.

From the First Call to the Keys

Using a Realtor should not feel like an added service on top of the purchase. To me it belongs in the deal from the first day.

From the home inspection to the day you get the keys, a Realtor will be there to answer your questions and keep the process moving as smoothly as a real estate transaction can move. That does not mean nothing goes wrong. Appraisals come in low. Lenders ask for one more bank statement on the Friday before closing. The difference is that someone on your side has seen each of those before and already knows the next phone call to make.

If you are buying, the goal is the best price on the home you choose. If you are selling, it is top dollar for the one you are leaving. Both are easier with a professional who knows the comps and knows the people on the other side of the table.