- Region
- Águilas
- Alhama de Murcia
- Jumilla
- Lorca
- Los Alcázares
- Mazarrón
- San Javier
-
ALL AREAS & TOWNS
- AREAS
- SOUTH WEST
- MAR MENOR
- MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
- NORTH & NORTH WEST
- TOWNS
- Abanilla
- Abarán
- Aguilas
- Alamillo
- Alcantarilla
- Aledo
- Alhama de Murcia
- Archena
- Balsicas
- Blanca
- Bolnuevo
- Bullas
- Cañadas del Romero
- Cabo de Palos
- Calasparra
- Camping Bolnuevo
- Campo De Ricote
- Camposol
- Canada De La Lena
- Caravaca de la Cruz
- Cartagena
- Cehegin
- Ceuti
- Cieza
- Condado de Alhama
- Corvera
- Costa Cálida
- Cuevas De Almanzora
- Cuevas de Reyllo
- El Carmoli
- El Mojon
- El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
- El Pareton / Cantareros
- El Raso
- El Valle Golf Resort
- Fortuna
- Fuente Alamo
- Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
- Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
- Isla Plana
- Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
- Jumilla
- La Azohia
- La Charca
- La Manga Club
- La Manga del Mar Menor
- La Pinilla
- La Puebla
- La Torre
- La Torre Golf Resort
- La Unión
- Las Palas
- Las Ramblas
- Las Ramblas Golf
- Las Torres de Cotillas
- Leiva
- Librilla
- Lo Pagan
- Lo Santiago
- Lorca
- Lorquí
- Los Alcázares
- Los Balcones
- Los Belones
- Los Canovas
- Los Nietos
- Los Perez (Tallante)
- Los Urrutias
- Los Ventorrillos
- Mar De Cristal
- Mar Menor
- Mar Menor Golf Resort
- Mazarrón
- Mazarrón Country Club
- Molina de Segura
- Moratalla
- Mula
- Murcia City
- Murcia Property
- Pareton
- Peraleja Golf Resort
- Perin
- Pilar de la Horadada
- Pinar de Campoverde
- Pinoso
- Playa Honda
- Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
- Pliego
- Portmán
- Pozo Estrecho
- Puerto de Mazarrón
- Puerto Lumbreras
- Puntas De Calnegre
- Region of Murcia
- Ricote
- Roda Golf Resort
- Roldan
- Roldan and Lo Ferro
- San Javier
- San Pedro del Pinatar
- Santiago de la Ribera
- Sierra Espuña
- Sucina
- Tallante
- Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
- Torre Pacheco
- Totana
- What's On Weekly Bulletin
- Yecla
- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
ARCHIVED - Cádiz court issues landmark ruling exempting home buyer from agency commission
The decision could have far-reaching implications for estate agents throughout Spain
The provincial court of Cádiz in Andalucía has issued what could be a landmark ruling in relation to the property market in Spain, allowing a buyer to go ahead with the purchase of a property direct from the previous owner without paying commission to the estate agency which had helped put the transaction together.
The case arose last year, when the purchaser was shown a flat and signed a document acknowledging that it was the agency who had presented the property to him. At a later date, however, the same purchaser bought the flat directly from the previous owner without paying the commission of 3 per cent for which the agency presented an invoice, in this case amounting to 3,630 euros.
The agency took the matter to court, where at a first hearing the magistrate ruled that the invoice had to be paid and also stipulated that the buyer should pay costs, but this week the provincial court has accepted an appeal against that decision, ruling that the signing of a property viewing sheet does not imply acceptance of the obligation to pay commission. This is despite the fact that the viewing sheet does specify a commission of 3 per cent, with a minimum of 3,000 euros, as the court rules that the buyer’s attention was not drawn to this clause to a sufficient extent.
Additionally, in contractual terms the payment of commission is ruled to be “abusive” as no service given by the agency is specified in return for the charge.
Responding to the judgment, the official College of Estate Agents in Madrid (CoapiMadrid-AIM) states that the charging of commission should be based on a document by which the vendor places the sale of a property in the hands of the agency, and that the viewing sheet should be used only to demonstrate to the vendor that the property has been visited by an interested party.
At present, traditional estate agencies in Spain generally charge commissions of between 3 and 7 per cent, while online portals offer rates of around 1,000 euros for successfully completed sales (plus IVA). The services provided include valuation and pricing advice, marketing, vetting of potential buyers, viewings, conducting negotiations between vendor and purchaser, providing necessary documentation such as the deeds, energy efficiency certificates and the like, and legal and tax advice.
In most cases commission is charged to the vendor, subtracting it from the agreed sale price with the full knowledge of the purchaser, who is required to make a separate payment to the agent. However, this can make it harder to achieve a sale as it inflates the advertised price, and in some parts of the country the commission is split between vendor and purchaser and it is important to establish the proposed payments before making any purchase.
It is worth remembering that in the not-so-distant past inflated commissions formed a part of the property boom-and-bust cycle which led to the market crash of 2007-08. As promoters became more and more desperate to sell properties off-plan, incentives offered to agents rose to as high as 25 per cent, artificially inflating prices to well above true market value and eventually contributing to the collapse of demand when the inevitable downturn in speculative purchases arrived.