realtor

Meaning

1. 1nouncountableAmerican

   A person whose job is to help others buy, sell or rent houses and other property, especially in the United States and Canada.

   Grammar: Counted like any job title: a realtor, several realtors; often used with 'a' or 'our'.

   Patterns

   • hire a realtor
   • work with a realtor
   • a realtor for someone

   Our realtor showed us six houses in one afternoon.

   The couple asked a local realtor to value their apartment before they listed it.

   My cousin trained as a realtor after leaving the army.

Word forms

Common combinations

hire a realtor

We decided to hire a realtor instead of selling the house ourselves.

local realtor

A local realtor knows which streets are in demand.

realtor's fee

The realtor's fee was a percentage of the sale price.

listing realtor

The listing realtor held an open house on Sunday.

licensed realtor

Only a licensed realtor can handle the paperwork for the sale.

Synonyms and how they differ

real estate agent

Real estate agent is the neutral, general term, while Realtor is originally a trademark for members of a particular association.

estate agent

Estate agent is the normal British phrase, where realtor is mainly American.

broker

A broker usually holds a higher licence and may run an agency, whereas realtor describes the job in everyday speech.

Word family

realty noun

real estate, or an agency business dealing in it

real estate noun

land and the buildings on it

real estate agent noun

the general job title for a property seller

Commonly confused: realtor or landlord?

Practice

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