Now as a real estate agent, I may be biased, or I may just understand how things have been done in my business. But as I understand it, the National Association of Realtors has settled for $418 million to remove the current practice on how commissions are collected and paid.
Currently the Listing Agent, representing the seller, negotiates the commission for themselves, and for a Buyers Agent, who represents the buyer. The amount the listing agent offers a Buyers Agent to bring a buyer and close the deal has been included on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), at least my MLS.
The new rules are still not concrete, but the information I have learned is that the Buyer’s Agent commission will not be included in the Listing Agents agreement with the seller. Potentially a buyer will pay their own agent, or try to buy a home with no representation. Here comes the spin…
Many are coming out saying that Buyers Agents aren’t necessary. Some say that the only thing the Buyers Agent does is write the offer. This uniformed statement obviously comes from those who have never worked in the industry. Representing the buyer is the most challenging part of the deal. Any agent can set a search and access a property with their client. A good agent is going to be a buyer’s advocate and bring to light anything that might be an issue with the home. Agents are not inspectors, but a good agent will go to all of the inspections so they can to learn what inspectors look for. This saves your buyer thousands in Due Diligence and other deposits by avoiding properties with significant problems. An example is how many people think to look at the underside of their roof for potential leaking before it becomes a real issue? I never had before Entering into this business. This is just one.
The fact is that as these changes take shape, the consumer is likely to be less protected without true representation. Going directly to an agent representing a seller, where an agent is ethically responsible for disclosing issuers (but not pointing out potential issues or advising on inspections, etc..) is going open a buyer up for much more risk. But this is just my opinion…
Citation:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Consumer prices up 3.5 percent from March 2023 to March 2024 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/consumer-prices-up-3-5-percent-from-march-2023-to-march-2024.htm (visited April 20, 2024).