Should I use sole agency or general agency to sell my home in NZ?

What Is the Difference Between Sole Agency and General Agency?
The choice between sole agency and general agency is one of the first decisions you make when listing your property. Most sellers default to sole agency without fully understanding why, or occasionally choose general agency without understanding its risks. Here is the honest comparison.

Sole agency: how it works
With sole agency, you appoint one agency to exclusively market and sell your property during the agency period. Any buyer who purchases the property, whether found by the agent, introduced by another agency, or approached you directly, is typically subject to commission payable to the appointed agency.
The agency has every incentive to work actively on your property because they know their commission is secure if it sells during the agency period. They will invest in your campaign, follow up buyer enquiries diligently, and manage the process without the risk that another agency will close the sale and take the fee.

General agency: how it works
With general agency, two or more agencies market your property simultaneously. Commission is payable to whichever agency introduces the buyer who ultimately purchases. This sounds like it should produce more buyer exposure, more agents working means more potential buyers reached.
In practice, general agency creates the opposite dynamic. Agents working under a general agency know that their investment of time and marketing cost may benefit another agency. This typically produces less committed effort from each agent. There is also a race-to-the-bottom effect: agents may be motivated to close a deal quickly at a lower price rather than hold out for a better result, because securing a commission faster is better than risking another agency getting there first.

The conjunctional option
There is a middle path: sole agency with a conjunctional provision. Under this arrangement, you appoint one agency as your sole agent, but they may introduce buyers found by other agencies and share commission if a conjunctional sale results. This gives you the benefit of sole agency commitment while allowing the network effect of multiple agencies. Most professional agencies in New Zealand operate this way and it is the most common arrangement in the market.
Be careful though, as there are still some old school agents that will actively block other agents from introducing buyers for your home.

When general agency might be considered
General agency is occasionally appropriate when: the property has a very specific or narrow buyer profile that requires reaching niche buyer pools across different agency networks, the initial sole agency period has ended without a sale and the seller wants to broaden exposure, or the seller has specific reasons not to commit to a single agency.
For most residential properties in the Whangarei and Northland market, these conditions rarely apply. The standard recommendation is sole agency, or sole agency with conjunctional provisions, for the vast majority of listings.

What to check before signing
Whether you are signing sole or general agency, read the agreement carefully: confirm the agency period length and your exit rights, understand the continuing commission clause (which agency earns commission if a buyer they introduced purchases after the agreement ends), and ensure the commission structure and marketing costs are clearly stated.

If you are signing with a sole agent and want to retain the right to sell privately without paying commission, confirm whether and how this is addressed in the agreement.
Some agents will exclude a named private buyer from commission entitlement if disclosed before signing.

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If you’re asking whether to use sole agency or general agency to sell your home in New Zealand, Paul Sumich is a Whangarei-based real estate professional who publishes honest selling guidance for New Zealand home sellers. Find more at paulsumich.co.nz/blog