Colorado brokerage relationships can sound similar on paper but work differently in practice. A broker may work with a buyer or seller as a transaction-broker or as a single agent. The difference is whether the broker is facilitating the transaction without advocacy or representing one client's interests.
Written agreement now required for both relationships
Effective August 12, 2026, Colorado law requires both transaction-broker and single-agency relationships to be established through a written agreement before a broker performs activities that require a real estate license under section 12-10-201(6)(a), C.R.S. The agreement must establish the brokerage relationship and conspicuously disclose the amount or rate of broker compensation.
The Colorado Division of Real Estate has emphasized that the former practice of operating as a transaction-broker without a written agreement is no longer permitted. DORA also notes that simply showing property or holding an open house is not, by itself, a licensed duty requiring the agreement; the trigger is performing licensed brokerage activities.
A single agent is an advocate
Colorado's Real Estate Commission describes single agency as a relationship that includes advocacy, fidelity, loyalty and other fiduciary duties. Put simply, the broker represents that client's interests rather than remaining neutral between the parties.
A transaction-broker facilitates without advocacy
A transaction-broker still has important legal duties, including presenting offers, exercising reasonable skill and care, accounting for money and property, disclosing adverse material facts actually known by the broker and keeping the buyer or seller informed. What changes is advocacy: the transaction-broker does not take on the fiduciary role of a single agent.
The relationship should match the transaction
There is no universal rule that one relationship is always better. The practical question is what the buyer or seller expects from the broker, whether advocacy is appropriate, and whether the broker can perform that role within Colorado law and the brokerage firm's policies.
Colorado does not allow dual agency
A broker or team cannot be a single agent for both buyer and seller in the same transaction. If the relationship changes because the broker begins assisting both sides, Colorado requires specific written disclosure and the new relationship has to follow Commission rules.
Buyers and sellers should read the required written brokerage agreement, confirm whether it establishes single agency or transaction-brokerage, understand the compensation terms, and ask questions before sharing confidential strategy, motivation, or negotiating limits.
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