https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/16/realestate/realtor-commission-fee-rules.html
Realtors Resist Changes in Commissions
Real estate industry insiders say it’s time for agents to face a new reality of discussing fees with buyers and sellers.
(Debra Kamin - The New York Times)
By Debra Kamin, The New York Times, Aug. 16, 2024
When the National Association of Realtors signed a landmark $418 million settlement in March, economists and academics predicted that the deal — which included an agreement to upend key practices concerning how real estate agents are paid — would create the most significant shift to the industry in a century…
The settlement makes it clear that agents can no longer discuss splitting compensation on the online databases, called the multiple listing service or the M.L.S., that they use to list homes. And Michael Ketchmark, the lead lawyer in the successful lawsuit against N.A.R., cautioned that agents who seek to move the commission conversation to other venues would be opening themselves to potential legal fights…
But in a move that some agents say is leading to confusion, the National Association of Realtors has been encouraging its 1.5 million members to maintain the status quo and move compensation talks to another venue…
The data, which covered hundreds of thousands of homes in 34 of the nation’s largest real estate markets, showed that home listings offering low commission to buyers’ agents sat on the market longer and received fewer visitors… [end quote]
I’m not planning to sell my house but I’d like to understand how this works.
Please chime in.
Wendy