Which event would result in the automatic cancellation of a listing agreement?

The automatic cancellation of a listing agreement occurs when the property owner passes away. This is due to the fact that a listing agreement is a contract that is inherently tied to the principal involved—in this case, the property owner. When the property owner dies, the agency relationship created by the listing is terminated because the principal is no longer able to engage in a contractual relationship.

Although termination of the managing broker's license, expiration of the contract term, and the sale of the property can affect a listing agreement, they do not automatically cancel it in the same way. For instance, if a managing broker's license is terminated, the agreements may still be valid under another broker within the same firm, unless specifically stated otherwise. Expiration of the contract term simply means that the listing agreement is no longer in effect once its time limit has been reached, but it does not trigger an automatic cancellation during the term. Similarly, when a property is sold, the listing agreement concludes but only after the sale process is completed and typically does not void the agreement until that point. Therefore, the death of the property owner results in an immediate cessation of the authority to act on their behalf, making it unique in its capacity to automatically lead to cancellation of the listing agreement.