In the UK, we are used to new developments being sold either directly by the developer or via a single exclusive sales agent. However, in Spain, the approach is quite different. Almost all developers will contract a "promotor" to manage the marketing of their development. This promotor will be entirely responsible for selling the development. Typically, they will manage and staff the show house and sales office, produce all of the promotional materials, and, when it comes to completion, deal with the transfer of the property on behalf of the developer. The promotor receives a substantial percentage of the income from each sale.

The vast majority of promotores also maintain a network of third-party estate agents to whom they will pay a commission for a successful sale (for a while, my job was to manage the accounts of third-party agents for a large Spanish developer). To most developers, the recruitment of third-party agents is a game of numbers. The wider they cast their net, the more likely they are to catch a fish. They will therefore offer an agency agreement (a contract allowing the agent to advertise and sell their development in return for commission) to almost any agent that walks into their office. When I worked for a developer, for a single development, I had contracts with over 200 sales agencies, the majority of which would visit the site, take away promotional materials, sign an agreement, and then never be seen again.

While this model is still the industry standard method of marketing and selling new build properties, it is largely incompatible with marketing via property portals. With so many agents selling the same developments, all using the sales materials and artist impressions given by the developer, portals can become saturated with identical listings. Ironically, the least organised agents, who fail to update listings when the builders increase prices, benefit the most when they appear to have cheaper offerings. Developers are becoming wise to this; some restrict portal advertising. However, you will undoubtedly notice the abundance of identical listings online.