Do you need a realtor to buy a house in Seattle?

6 min read · 6 sections

No. Washington does not require you to have a broker to buy a house, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. The useful question is not whether you are allowed to go without one — it is which specific jobs stop being done, and whether you want to do them yourself.

Who is answering this question, and what they sell#

Search this and the first page is mostly law firms explaining that agents are optional and you should hire a lawyer instead. One of them says brokers want a large commission "just for the paperwork." There is also a discount brokerage, a mortgage broker, and a newspaper article from 2019.

I am a broker, so I have an obvious interest here too. You should read this with that in mind — which is exactly why the rest of this page is a list of specific jobs rather than an argument. Read the list and decide for yourself. Some people genuinely should go without one.

What nobody on that page does is tell you what actually stops happening. So that is what this is.

What stops being done for you#

Not a case for hiring anyone. A list of work that still has to happen, which becomes yours if nobody else is doing it.

1. Finding out what a house is actually worthPortal estimates are algorithms working from public records. Deciding what to offer means pulling genuinely comparable recent sales and adjusting for condition, layout and position. You can do this — the data is available — but it is the difference between offering a number and offering an informed number.
2. Writing the offerIn Washington this is a set of NWMLS forms, and the terms matter more than most buyers expect: contingency structure, timelines, financing conditions, what happens if the appraisal comes in low. A form filled in wrongly is enforceable exactly as written.
3. Knowing what to ask the listing agentDays on market, whether there is a pre-inspection, whether other offers exist, whether the seller has a timeline. Listing agents answer these — but generally to another broker, and generally when asked precisely.
4. Reading the inspection with a transaction in mindAn inspector tells you the condition. Deciding which findings are worth renegotiating, which are worth walking over, and which are ordinary for a house that age is a separate judgement, and it is where most money is won or lost.
5. Running the calendar after mutual acceptanceEarnest money, inspection response, title review, financing, walkthrough — each with a deadline, and nobody chases you for them. Miss one and you can lose your earnest money or your leverage.
6. Negotiating twiceOnce on price, and again after inspection. The second negotiation is the harder one, because by then you want the house.

VERIFY BEFORE PUBLISHING — Forms, timelines and agency rules change. This page describes the shape of the work, not the current version of any specific form. Confirm anything procedural against current NWMLS documents or a licensed professional before relying on it.

What changed in 2024, and what did not#

The industry settlement changed two things that matter to an unrepresented buyer.

First, buyer agency agreements are now required in writing before a broker tours homes with you. That is a real change: what a buyer's agent will do, and what they will be paid, is now agreed up front rather than assumed.

Second, buyer-agent compensation is no longer advertised on the MLS. It is negotiated. In practice, sellers in this market still frequently offer it — but you can no longer assume it, and you should ask rather than guess.

What did not change: going unrepresented does not automatically put that money in your pocket. If the seller has agreed to pay their listing broker a total commission, a buyer arriving without an agent does not necessarily reduce what the seller pays — it can simply mean the listing side keeps more. Whether that is true on a specific house is a question worth asking directly, in writing, before you decide.

If you go to the listing agent instead#

This is the most common version of unrepresented buying, and it is the one to understand properly.

The listing broker has an existing agreement with the seller. Depending on how it is structured, they will either continue representing the seller only — in which case you have no representation at all, and they are obliged to get the best outcome for the other side — or they will act as a dual agent with written consent from both parties, in which case their duties to each of you are limited and they cannot advocate on price for either.

Neither arrangement is improper, and both are legal in Washington with the right disclosures. But in both cases the person helping you write the offer is not working solely for you, and it is worth being clear-eyed about that rather than assuming friendliness equals advocacy.

If you go this route, ask directly and in writing which capacity they are acting in. It is a fair question and a licensed broker will answer it plainly.

When going without genuinely makes sense#

There are real situations where I would not bother hiring anyone, and it is worth saying so.

Buying from family or a friend at an agreed price, where there is no negotiation to run and the job is purely getting the paperwork right. Hire a real estate attorney for that — the lawyers ranking above this page are correct for that case.

You have done this several times, you know the forms, you have your own inspector and lender, and you are comfortable running the calendar.

You are buying new construction from a builder and have already negotiated directly. Be aware in that case that the person in the sales office works for the builder, not for you — the same caution as the listing agent applies.

Where it is usually a mistake: a first purchase, a competitive situation, an older home with condition questions, or any transaction where you would be negotiating against a professional who does this daily and you do not.

Common questions#