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4
HeadSet
2023 Oct 18, 8:32am
HeadSet
2023 Oct 18, 8:32am
Real-Estate Commissions Could Be the Next Fee on the Chopping Block
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/real-estate-commissions-could-be-the-next-fee-on-the-chopping-block/ar-AA1irqIV?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=6837d74888b5417c8d3c5a06f444ded3&ei=17
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/real-estate-commissions-could-be-the-next-fee-on-the-chopping-block/ar-AA1irqIV?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=6837d74888b5417c8d3c5a06f444ded3&ei=17
5
HeadSet
2023 Oct 18, 8:44am
HeadSet
2023 Oct 18, 8:44am
People better be careful here. If real estate agents are removed, what will replace them? List in Zillow?
Real Estate agents serve a need, it is just that the 6% commission is too high.
Real Estate agents serve a need, it is just that the 6% commission is too high.
6
Onvacation
2023 Oct 18, 8:50am
Onvacation
2023 Oct 18, 8:50am
HeadSet says
Should be flat fee.
What incentive does a "buyers agent" have to get a better price if it lowers their commission?
Real Estate agents serve a need, it is just that the 6% commission is too high
Should be flat fee.
What incentive does a "buyers agent" have to get a better price if it lowers their commission?
7
stereotomy
2023 Oct 18, 10:03am
stereotomy
2023 Oct 18, 10:03am
6% on a sub $200K deal was fine when it was a half- to full-time job supporting a modest income, not a 1- or 2-shot homerun when you get a $200K commission.
RealtWhores are just that - dress up hoochie and suck dick to get a few K if you're lucky.
I once was with my wife at some older place in Austin, TX. I knocked on the walls all over the place and discovered substantial leaks/water infiltration. I was commenting this out loud to my wife, who was taking notes. The RealtWhore became indignant "You're being completely unprofessional!"
I thought at the time, since when does an ordinary buyer need to have "professional" training? Now I look back, and she probably thought that I was a potential slumlord buyer, and that I should have lowballed her ass (and have had her suck my dick (as is standard in these types of negotiations)) in private as opposed to out in the open along with the plebes.
RealtWhores are just that - dress up hoochie and suck dick to get a few K if you're lucky.
I once was with my wife at some older place in Austin, TX. I knocked on the walls all over the place and discovered substantial leaks/water infiltration. I was commenting this out loud to my wife, who was taking notes. The RealtWhore became indignant "You're being completely unprofessional!"
I thought at the time, since when does an ordinary buyer need to have "professional" training? Now I look back, and she probably thought that I was a potential slumlord buyer, and that I should have lowballed her ass (and have had her suck my dick (as is standard in these types of negotiations)) in private as opposed to out in the open along with the plebes.
8
HeadSet
2023 Oct 18, 10:54am
HeadSet
2023 Oct 18, 10:54am
Onvacation says
Correct, the current scheme of listing with a selling agent who splits the commission with your buyer's agent is really two agents working for the seller.
IMO, listing should be a small flat fee to get price council and load into the database. Anyone could put in an offer, and if the buyer has an agent, the buyer pays the agent directly. The seller would still need someone to help process the offer, though (full price with points help versus lower price clean, and so on).
What incentive does a "buyers agent" have to get a better price if it lowers their commission?
Correct, the current scheme of listing with a selling agent who splits the commission with your buyer's agent is really two agents working for the seller.
IMO, listing should be a small flat fee to get price council and load into the database. Anyone could put in an offer, and if the buyer has an agent, the buyer pays the agent directly. The seller would still need someone to help process the offer, though (full price with points help versus lower price clean, and so on).
9
AD
2023 Oct 18, 4:03pm
AD
2023 Oct 18, 4:03pm
HeadSet says
I agree. My sellers agent said 5% would suffice. The agents protect their clients. For me, a sellers agent protects me from scam artists and someone trying to take a lot of advantage of me.
People better be careful here. If real estate agents are removed, what will replace them? List in Zillow?
Real Estate agents serve a need, it is just that the 6% commission is too high.
I agree. My sellers agent said 5% would suffice. The agents protect their clients. For me, a sellers agent protects me from scam artists and someone trying to take a lot of advantage of me.
10
Al_Sharpton_for_President
2023 Oct 31, 2:44pm
Al_Sharpton_for_President
2023 Oct 31, 2:44pm
Jury rules realtors colluded on commissions, must pay $1.8B in damages
A jury on Tuesday said the National Association of Realtors and several real estate companies, including units of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, must pay $1.78 billion in damages for conspiring to artificially inflate commissions that home sellers pay to buyers’ brokers.
The verdict followed a two-week trial in the Kansas City, Mo., federal court, where the case had drawn widespread attention for challenging widely used real estate industry practices.
The jury award will be automatically tripled under US antitrust law to more than $5.3 billion, said Michael Ketchmark, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs.
“Today was a day of accountability,” Ketchmark said.
The defendants included Berkshire-owned HomeServices of America and two subsidiaries, as well as Keller Williams.
Plaintiffs in the class action included sellers of more than 260,000 homes in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois between 2015 and 2022.
HomeServices said it was disappointed by the verdict and planned to appeal.
Keller Williams spokesperson Darryl Frost said the company would consider options for an appeal. “This is not the end,” Frost said.
A spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors, Mantill Williams, also said it would appeal and ask the court to reduce the damages amount.
The plaintiffs claimed the association and corporate defendants drove up the commission, upwards of 6%, that home sellers pay to brokers representing buyers.
Sellers called the compensation rule “a market-shaping and distorting rule that has severe anticompetitive effects.”
The defendants denied wrongdoing.
The realtor association argued there was no evidence that agents were required to “make offers of compensation at all, let alone at amounts that stabilize, fix, or raise commissions.”
Two other defendants, Re/Max and Anywhere Real Estate, agreed to respective $55 million and $83.5 million settlements before trial, without admitting liability.
Shares of Re/Max closed down 4% while shares of Anywhere Real Estate closed down 2.7% on Tuesday.
https://nypost.com/2023/10/31/business/jury-rules-realtors-colluded-on-commissions-must-pay-1-8b-in-damages/
A jury on Tuesday said the National Association of Realtors and several real estate companies, including units of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, must pay $1.78 billion in damages for conspiring to artificially inflate commissions that home sellers pay to buyers’ brokers.
The verdict followed a two-week trial in the Kansas City, Mo., federal court, where the case had drawn widespread attention for challenging widely used real estate industry practices.
The jury award will be automatically tripled under US antitrust law to more than $5.3 billion, said Michael Ketchmark, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs.
“Today was a day of accountability,” Ketchmark said.
The defendants included Berkshire-owned HomeServices of America and two subsidiaries, as well as Keller Williams.
Plaintiffs in the class action included sellers of more than 260,000 homes in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois between 2015 and 2022.
HomeServices said it was disappointed by the verdict and planned to appeal.
Keller Williams spokesperson Darryl Frost said the company would consider options for an appeal. “This is not the end,” Frost said.
A spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors, Mantill Williams, also said it would appeal and ask the court to reduce the damages amount.
The plaintiffs claimed the association and corporate defendants drove up the commission, upwards of 6%, that home sellers pay to brokers representing buyers.
Sellers called the compensation rule “a market-shaping and distorting rule that has severe anticompetitive effects.”
The defendants denied wrongdoing.
The realtor association argued there was no evidence that agents were required to “make offers of compensation at all, let alone at amounts that stabilize, fix, or raise commissions.”
Two other defendants, Re/Max and Anywhere Real Estate, agreed to respective $55 million and $83.5 million settlements before trial, without admitting liability.
Shares of Re/Max closed down 4% while shares of Anywhere Real Estate closed down 2.7% on Tuesday.
https://nypost.com/2023/10/31/business/jury-rules-realtors-colluded-on-commissions-must-pay-1-8b-in-damages/
12
SunnyvaleCA
2023 Nov 10, 12:52am
I was kind of hopeful with Zillow's venture into buying used homes, fixing them up, and selling. Seemed to circumvent the real estate cartel. Sadly, their pricing algorithms were off and the project went bust.
Redfin is moving to end our support of the National Association of Realtors for two reasons:
NAR policies requiring a fee for the buyer’s agent on every listing
a pattern of alleged sexual harassment.
A Long Time Coming
We’ve had many meetings with NAR execs to explore compromises on the policies that would let us continue our support. Since a Redfin-wide initiative to join NAR in 2017, we’ve paid more than $13 million in dues, in an effort to influence NAR to advocate for an open, technology-driven marketplace that would benefit consumers. We’ll now explore other ways to advance those goals.
A Pattern of Alleged Sexual Harassment
We’d already been uncomfortable with the NAR’s positions on commissions when we read reports of sexist behavior and sexual harassment, by the NAR’s president and others, based on interviews with 29 former NAR employees. NAR was aware of the allegations for months and in some cases years, but reacted only when those allegations became public, and only after the CEO said there wasn’t a problem. Many employees described a culture of intimidation and retribution; many are still calling for more accountability.
Resigning from the NAR Board
Redfin had already resigned our national board seat in June, before the alleged sexual harassment came to light. In the many marketplaces governed by its policies, NAR still blocks sellers from listing homes that don’t pay a commission to the buyer’s agent, and it blocks websites like Redfin.com from showing for-sale-by-owner listings alongside agent-listed homes. Removing these blocks would be easy, and it would make our industry more consumer-friendly and competitive.
Redfin Will Require Many of Our Agents To Resign From NAR
Now, after careful deliberation, Redfin will go further than resigning from the NAR board, requiring our brokers and agents to leave NAR everywhere we can. Most brokerages are only a loose affiliation of independent agents, and none of us wants to impose a policy that could alienate any of the people who generate our revenue.
NAR Has Forced An All-or-Nothing Choice On Us
But this all-or-nothing approach isn’t of Redfin’s choosing. NAR rules require us to leave local and state associations even when our only beef is with the national association. The rules require that for a broker to be a member, she must pay dues for each of the agents under her supervision, regardless of whether an agent wants to be a member. The rules further say that if a broker isn’t a member, no agent under her supervision can be a member.
So We Choose Nothing
This is like eating at a restaurant that requires you to buy food for your entire family even when you come in alone, and that also says no family member can dine there if you ever stop dining there too. The painful choice is to stop patronizing that restaurant altogether.
In Many Markets, We Can’t Even Do That
But often we don’t even have that choice. In about half the U.S., including in cities like Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Long Island, Minneapolis, Nashville, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, we can’t quit NAR individually or en masse, because NAR membership is required for agents to access listing databases, lockboxes, and industry-standard contracts. It’s impossible to be an agent if you can’t see which homes are for sale, or unlock the door to those homes, or even write an offer.
We Want NAR to Decouple MLS Access from NAR Support
We’re asking NAR to decouple local access to these tools, including the listing databases known as Multiple Listing Services, from support for the national lobbying organization. Agents shouldn’t have to underwrite policies and legal efforts that hurt consumers when most of us got into real estate to help consumers. Redfin’s mission after all is to redefine real estate in consumers’ favor.
We’re Committed to Our Industry’s Future. NAR Isn’t the Future.
Our disagreement is with NAR, not with our industry. Brokerages can compete on price and still cooperate to show all the homes for sale. Redfin will continue our full support of the MLSs that brokers use to share listing data, and we’ll remain friends with the many fine people working at NAR and its local affiliates on economics, diversity, and pro-housing policies. We love our industry. We’ve tried to love NAR. But enough is enough.
https://www.redfin.com/news/redfin-is-leaving-nar/