Under North Carolina Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules, a broker has a duty to disclose all material facts to all parties in a transaction. A material fact is any information that could influence a reasonable person's decision to buy, sell, or lease. Major highway changes are a classic example of a material fact because they can significantly affect a property's value, desirability, noise levels, and accessibility. This duty is proactive and absolute; it is not contingent on being asked by a party, receiving permission from the seller, or a specific project timeline.

A. The broker's duty to disclose material facts is proactive; they cannot wait to be asked before revealing such important information.

B. The legal obligation to disclose material facts supersedes any instruction from the seller. A seller cannot direct a broker to conceal a material fact.

D. The materiality of a major infrastructure project is not determined by an arbitrary one-year completion window. The existence of the plan itself is the material fact.

1. North Carolina Real Estate Commission. (2023). North Carolina Real Estate Manual.

Chapter 8, "Real Estate Brokerage and the Law of Agency," Section: Duties to Third Parties. This section details the broker's duty to disclose all material facts to all parties in the transaction, which includes facts relating directly to the property, such as "proposed zoning changes, or the planned construction of a new highway or airport." The duty is described as being owed to all parties, not just the client.

2. North Carolina Administrative Code, Title 21, Chapter 58, Rule A .0114(a).

21 NCAC 58A .0114(a) "Disclosure of Material Facts": This rule explicitly states, "A broker shall disclose to any party to a real estate transaction any material fact about the property proposed for transfer or the transaction of which the broker has knowledge or should reasonably have acquired knowledge..." This establishes the legal requirement for disclosure to all parties.

3. UNC School of Government. (2012). North Carolina Real Estate Law.

Chapter 10, "Duties of Real Estate Agents." This text, used in university-level instruction, clarifies that material facts include "external factors affecting the property," providing examples like planned highway construction. It reinforces that this disclosure duty is owed to third parties (e.g., buyers) and is not waivable by the agent's principal (the seller).