The US have licensed realtors, as do Scandinavia, and the UK is semi-regulated as well, but in Spain, there’s no such thing as a regulated or licenced agent. This makes international buyers understandably nervous. Sean Woolley, CEO of Cloud Nine Spain, spoke about the situation in the area and what buyers can do to choose a reputable agent and protect themselves.
We know in the States, things are regulated. You have to study, pass exams, and do all sorts of things to be able to go into real estate. However, unfortunately here in Spain there are no similar regulations, so anybody who just fancies pitching up and selling properties can do so. Because all the agents essentially share a database of properties, they all have access to the same properties and there’s very little control.
This is something that we’re actually working hard to correct, alongside the LPA, the association of realtors which we belong to. They are strongly supporting regulation and training and are planning to set up an academy for realtors, to give them training and improve the market. We’re getting positive indications of support from the local government in Andalucia on this front and the national government are also looking to introduce further regulations, which will help in this regard.
However, in the meantime, we’d recommend that buyers choose their agents with care to make sure they have the knowledge and experience to properly support and advise them, particularly in a market that isn’t as transparent as others in terms of pricing and historical data.
Our advice is to do some research, try and find an agent that you feel comfortable with, who has the experience, and who is a member of the LPA.
The LPA is the Leading Property Agents of Spain and is very selective of who they allow to become members. There are over 100 agencies who are members of this association, and have been vetted before they have been allowed to join. Members must fulfil certain criteria to have membership, they expect the highest standards of ethics and service to be upheld and they hold their members to account. Choosing a member of that body is the biggest guarantee you’re going to get of standards, ethics and professionalism, before legislation changes. We hope that the legislation will come into effect in 2026.
