A seller complains that the seller's agent is showing other properties to buyers that compete with the seller's property. Which of the following is true?

• A. The agent must disclose competing listings
• B. The agent is misrepresenting
• C. Seller's agent is not breaching the duty of loyalty
• D. Terminating the listing

Answer: (C)

Fiduciary duties, especially loyalty, govern how a listing agent must act for the seller. Loyalty means the agent must act in the seller’s best interests and avoid actions that would harm the seller’s position or advantages in the market. Keeping the seller informed and marketing the seller’s property are primary duties, while showing buyers other properties is a normal market activity that helps buyers compare options. It does not, by itself, betray the seller’s interests or create a conflict that would constitute a breach of loyalty, unless the agent is simultaneously representing the buyer in the same transaction or discloses confidential information. So this behavior is not a breach of the duty of loyalty. The other options either imply a misrepresentation, a required disclosure that isn’t necessary in this context, or an action (terminating the listing) that isn’t warranted by the situation.