Realtor commissions are changing, giving home sellers more negotiating power and potentially more paperwork for buyers. Starting this weekend, realtors will no longer be able to negotiate fees on multiple listing services, leaving sellers room to negotiate fees down and buyers to skip agents entirely. This change follows a $418 million settlement with the National Association of Realtors and is considered one of the biggest changes in real estate history.
With these changes, it remains to be seen how agents, buyers, and sellers will cover commission costs. Sellers could pass on savings to buyers in the form of a lower home price or ask buyers to cover some or all of the costs. The NAR is implementing a new requirement for agents to enter written agreements with buyers before showing a home to ensure transparency in compensation.
While the changes may add complexity to the home buying process, they aim to provide more transparency and potentially lower fees for buyers and sellers. The settlement that led to these changes was a result of an antitrust lawsuit alleging brokers were steering clients to listings with better commissions. The NAR has clarified that offers of compensation can still be negotiated off-MLS.
Overall, experts suggest that these changes could lead to lower fees for buyers and more transparency in how brokers are compensated. In a cooling housing market with high prices and mortgage rates, the possibility of lower commissions may benefit buyers, although concerns remain for first-time homebuyers about affordability.
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