A buyer's salesperson learns that the seller's motivation for selling is a recent job loss and financial difficulty. The salesperson is representing the buyer in a multiple offer situation. What is the salesperson's ethical duty regarding this information?

Question: A buyer's salesperson learns that the seller's motivation for selling is a recent job loss and financial difficulty. The salesperson is representing the buyer in a multiple offer situation. What is the salesperson's ethical duty regarding this information?

Answer options: ✅ The salesperson must not disclose the seller's motivation to their buyer without the seller's express consent.

• The salesperson should immediately inform their buyer, as it could strengthen their offer.
• The salesperson should anonymously leak the information to all bidding parties to ensure fairness.
• The salesperson should use this information to negotiate a lower price for their buyer, as it's not a material fact about the property.

Correct answer: The salesperson must not disclose the seller's motivation to their buyer without the seller's express consent.

Explanation: While it might seem beneficial, a salesperson's duty of confidentiality extends to information about the other party's motivation or personal circumstances learned in confidence, especially if it was a breach of confidentiality by the other party's representative. Disclosing such confidential information without consent would be a clear ethical and REBBA violation.