Should a real estate agent buy the house or sell it?

Article 4 of the 2026 Code says REALTORS® with a present or contemplated interest in buying a property must disclose it in writing to all parties before a party signs any agreement (NAR, January 2026). That covers buying for yourself, for an immediate family member, for your firm, or through an entity you or your family have a legal interest in (Standard of Practice 4-1, NAR, January 2026). You don't have to name your client or the exact nature of the interest, but you must disclose that one exists (Standard of Practice 4-2, NAR, January 2026).

Buying as a principal doesn't switch the rest of the Code off: REALTORS® acting as principals stay bound by its duties (Standard of Practice 1-1, NAR, January 2026). The duties that matter most when the seller is, or could be, your client:

Article 11 says a REALTOR® must not buy or try to buy an interest in property, for themselves, their immediate family or an entity they have a financial interest in, without making their position known to the seller in writing (CREA, May 2023). The disclosure must say you're a licensed real estate practitioner, it applies wherever the property is and whether or not another registrant represents you, and it must come at the earliest possible opportunity and before an offer to purchase is presented (Interpretations 11.1, 11.2 and 11.4, CREA, May 2023). The Code's own advice is plain: when in doubt, disclose (Interpretation 11.5, CREA, May 2023).

Article 29 keeps you bound by the Code when you act as a principal, and Article 3 makes protecting and promoting your client's interests your primary duty, including not using your client's information to their disadvantage (CREA, May 2023).

Yes, and they differ. The NAR Code applies to REALTORS®, who subscribe to it voluntarily, unlike non-member licensees (NAR, January 2026), and where the Code and the law conflict, the law takes precedence (NAR, January 2026). CREA's Code says that where provincial regulation also requires disclosure, you make that disclosure as the regulation requires (CREA, May 2023).

Before you make an offer on a property you could list or sell, check with your state's real estate commission or your provincial regulator, and with your broker.

In the US, if it becomes your main home and you own and live in it for at least 2 of the 5 years before you sell, you may exclude up to US$250,000 of gain, or US$500,000 on a joint return (IRS, September 2026). A gain on an asset held more than one year is long-term; one year or less is short-term and taxed as ordinary income (IRS, September 2026). Property you hold mainly for sale to customers in your trade or business isn't a capital asset at all (IRS Publication 544, April 2026).

Keep it as a rental and you depreciate the building, not the land, over 27.5 years under the general system (IRS Publication 527, April 2026), and the passive activity rules apply unless you qualify as a real estate professional and materially participate in the rental (IRS Publication 925, April 2026). What is passive income for a real estate agent that is not a rental? covers that test.

In Canada, if the home was solely your principal residence for every year you owned it, you don't pay tax on the gain (CRA, February 2026). A gain on a housing unit you owned for less than 365 consecutive days is deemed business income rather than a capital gain, unless a listed life event applies (CRA, February 2026). Outside that rule, whether a sale is business income or a capital gain depends on the facts, and half of a capital gain is taxable (CRA, February 2026).

Work through these before you make an offer: