I get asked this enough to warrant writing it down somewhere….
First Item: Copyright is ownership. If you took the photo, you own it. If you didn’t press the shutter-release button, you don’t own it.
And that’s pretty much it.
When an agent hires me or another photographer, we license them to use the photos, but we still own them. Every photographer’s licensing agreement is a little different but for real estate it’s pretty much the customer is allowed to use the photos to market the property in print, web, etc.
The photographer owns the photo and, therefore, gets to say what’s done with them.
The photographer could license them to another real estate agent. The photographer could license them to the builder or the pool guy or the person who built the deck and needs shots for their website.
The customer, the agent, cannot give or sell them to the builder, the pool guy, the HOA, or their friend who’s listing a house down the street and likes the shot of the park I provided.
That being said, my licensing is fairly liberal: I license the agent to use them in marketing the home for the duration of the listing or for marketing themselves — agents often like to have a portfolio to be able to show new clients, “Here’s the kinds of pictures we’ll have for your listing.” If the agent wants to use a shot on their website long after the listing has expired, I usually license that, although I hope I’ve provided something later to match it or be better.
EDIT: After I wrote this someone brought this article to my attention:
Why Is Image Theft So Common In Real Estate