When buying or selling a home, clients often work with both real estate agents and lawyers. While lawyers are crucial for legal protections, contracts, and ensuring compliance with state laws, there are several vital tasks that only real estate agents handle. Understanding these differences helps buyers and sellers see why both roles matter — and why agents provide unique value in a transaction.

1. Pricing and Market Analysis

A real estate lawyer will not analyze comparable sales (comps) or advise on pricing strategy. Real estate agents, on the other hand, specialize in running Comparative Market Analyses (CMAs) to help sellers set competitive listing prices and guide buyers on what’s reasonable to offer.

2. Marketing and Exposure

Lawyers focus strictly on legal documents. They don’t create listing descriptions, stage homes, or run open houses. Real estate agents actively market properties using MLS, social media, professional photos, videos, and staging — driving buyer interest and maximizing sale prices.

3. Networking and Buyer Connections

An attorney will never bring in potential buyers or connect sellers with interested parties. Real estate agents leverage their network of buyers, investors, and other agents to create exposure and find the right match for a property.

4. Negotiation Beyond Legal Terms

While lawyers ensure contracts are enforceable and protect their clients’ rights, agents go beyond legal language to negotiate details like repairs, contingencies, closing timelines, and even included appliances. These negotiations often make or break deals.

5. Emotional and Practical Guidance

Real estate agents help clients navigate the emotional side of buying or selling a home. From calming anxieties during bidding wars to advising on neighborhood trends and school districts, agents provide insights and support that lawyers typically don’t cover.

6. Managing the Entire Process

Lawyers step in for specific contract and closing duties. Agents, however, manage the entire journey — scheduling showings, coordinating inspections, working with appraisers, communicating with lenders, and keeping the timeline on track. Unlike lawyers, agents will be present for appraisals, inspections, and follow-ups to ensure that everything runs smoothly. For example, an agent might accompany a buyer during the home inspection and point out issues that could affect negotiations, such as outdated roofing, plumbing concerns, or potential safety hazards. This hands-on presence allows them to guide clients in real time and suggest strategies for requesting repairs or price adjustments.

Lawyers are essential for safeguarding legal interests, but real estate agents provide the practical expertise, market insight, and client advocacy that keep transactions moving smoothly. Agents do the legwork no lawyer would — from pricing and marketing to hand-holding through stressful decisions — making them indispensable partners in any real estate deal.

Matt Witte strives to be the best realtor in North Andover, MA.

Any questions about real estate, reach out to Matt Witte, North Andover Realtor, MA