quote:

The 6% commission, a standard in home purchase transactions, is no more.

In a sweeping move expected to dramatically reduce the cost of buying and selling a home, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday a settlement with groups of homesellers, agreeing to end landmark antitrust lawsuits by paying $418 million in damages and eliminating rules on commissions.

The NAR, which represents more than 1 million Realtors, also agreed to put in place a set of new rules. One prohibits agents’ compensation from being included on listings placed on local centralized listing portals known as multiple listing services, which critics say led brokers to push more expensive properties on customers. Another ends requirements that brokers subscribe to multiple listing services — many of which are owned by NAR subsidiaries — where homes are given a wide viewing in a local market. Another new rule will require buyers’ brokers to enter into written agreements with their buyers.

The agreement effectively will destroy the current homebuying and selling business model, in which sellers pay both their broker and a buyer’s broker, which critics say have driven housing prices artificially higher.

quote:

If a federal court approves the settlement, the new rules will take effect in July, according to a person close to the settlement talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

quote:

in July

quote:

It’s an odd model, where the agent does all kinds of work without pay until the very end.

quote:

One thing we know from the evidence is that agents who sell their own homes tend to get a higher price for it than you get for your otherwise identical home.

quote:

I suspect that this change will work to advantage the better agents at the expense of the weaker/lazier agents.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

Around here, I have noticed that the person "on duty" at open houses is never the listing agent. It's always someone younger, connected to the agency, but not the listing agent.

I always wonder if those folks are getting an hourly wage or what. And if so, who pays them, and when.

quote:

I get the impression that newbie agents are usually the ones babysitting open-houses, and they are not paid for their time. The rationale is the the newbies can use open-houses as opportunities for experience and exposure, maybe pickup new clients from visitors who have not already have agents of their own.