Questioning the Effectiveness of Mandatory Agency Disclosure Statutes

This paper examines the topic of agency disclosure based on the results of the National Association of Realtors® 2004 Home Buying and Selling Survey. Currently, the practice of agency disclosure is required by statute in 49 out of 50 states. However, the findings of this study indicate that there are some problems with the effectiveness of current practices. In particular, the level of reported agency disclosure is found to vary substantially from one state to the next. In addition, certain cohorts within the home buying population such as first-time home buyers, Asians, Hispanics, and elderly buyers report disclosure at significantly lower rates than the rest of the population. Possible explanations for these findings are provided.