| Summary: | <p> Since the mid-1990s, the role of agency in real estate transactions progressed from the representation only of sellers to include representation of homebuyers. The evolution of the dual agency concept has led to an array of problems, especially the likelihood of conflict of interest when agents or a brokerage endeavors to represent both homebuyer and seller in the same transaction. The purpose of the interpretive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of homebuyers and sellers concerning the ethics of agents and brokerage while purchasing or selling a property under dual agency. A semi-structured interview format with open-ended questions was implemented individually with 14 participants in North Central Mississippi to capture a reflective picture of the lived experiences of participating in a dual agency transaction. The responses from the interviews were transcribed using a pragmatic format and NVivo10<sup>®</sup> software was employed to code and categorize the data. The results of the analysis led to the identification of ten themes: accurate interpretation; similar to single agency transactions; honesty, trustworthiness, and full disclosure; by reputation and referrals from others; explained at offer or contract; effect on price and transaction completion; increased knowledge and understanding of the buying and selling process; repeat participation with same agent; recommend agent to others; and benefit from question on education of agents, homebuyers, and sellers. Leaders of the real estate industry may use the findings of this study to better understand the lived experiences of homebuyers and sellers utilizing a dual agency relationship.</p>
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