Sep 17

Referral Marketing: Helpful or Too Close for Comfort?

Real estate referrals can be a win-win. A homeowner gets connected with a trusted professional in another market, and an agent gets to grow their business. But there’s a fine line between making a legitimate referral and using another agent’s client information to drum up business.

That line starts with Article 16 of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, which requires REALTORS® to respect the exclusive relationships other agents have with their clients.

Here’s an easy example: You’re showing a home listed by another agent and discover that the sellers are moving across the country. You happen to know a terrific REALTOR® in their new city. It might seem natural to reach out and offer that connection—but if you learned about the sellers and their plans through the MLS or another broker’s offer of cooperation, you shouldn’t use that information to target them for a referral.

In other words, the MLS is not a prospecting database for referral opportunities.

Standard of Practice 16-3 allows REALTORS® to offer certain real estate services to clients represented by another broker when the circumstances are appropriate. However, information obtained through an MLS or similar cooperative source can’t be used to identify those clients for the purpose of making a competing service offer.

Standard of Practice 16-18 also addresses referrals. Information obtained through an MLS or another offer of cooperation generally can’t be used to refer another broker’s clients to someone else—or establish a buyer or tenant relationship—without authorization from the listing broker.

For consumers, the takeaway is pretty simple: Your real estate relationship matters. If you’re already working exclusively with an agent, another REALTOR® shouldn’t use information about you from that agent’s listing to sidestep that relationship.

For REALTORS®, referrals remain an important business tool in 2026. The key is knowing where the information came from and making sure you’re not turning another agent’s client list into your own marketing list.

A good referral should open a door—not go through someone else’s.

Source: REALTOR® Magazine
“Referral Marketing: Mind Your P’s and Q’s”
National Association of REALTORS®

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