More MLS Remarks

Please use your own directions.

NOW EXCEPTING BACK UP OFFERS…

AGENTS: PLEASE PROVIDE BUYERS POF AND LENDER APPROVAL OR, IF CASH – BUYERS PROOF OF FUNDS WHEN SCHEDULING A SHOWING.

Seller only wants serious buyers.

Do not sue ShowingTime.

Michelob lamp does not convey

Google maps works better than Apple Maps but both of them will take you to the home…. I just like google better.

Seller has a strong preference for using First American Title and First American Escrow, if your buyer can not accept that do not make an offer.

Big Price adjustment was to no fault of property owner simply wanted to test market to make sure they were not leaving any money on the table.

Buyers are recommended to investigate neighborhood safety by contacting the local police department. (listing in Carlsbad)

I do not know if the seller will accept an offer or counter. We cannot discuss offers.

“Dear Seller” letters will NOT be presented to seller. Please do not send.

Please do not ask me to host open houses. (vacant listing by an Orange County agent)

Complex also boast pickleball and tennis courts.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL TO HOST OPEN HOUSES. ***

Please note La Jolla does not allow “For Sale” signs.

Please whatever you do….do NOT use Showing Time.

Self Destruction

We don’t need the DOJ or commission lawsuits to take down our business – realtors will self-destruct, beginning with the elimination of the buyer-agents as we’ve known them.

A few of the comments below. Click here to see the whole thread.

The AI Realtor

It’s inevitable that artificial intelligence will be utilized in the business of selling homes. Having AI assist with writing home descriptions or other advertising would seem to be a natural fit.

How about speaking with clients on the phone though? Listen to the brief conversation above.

Here are some of the results:

Portal Wars

As a battle of words and philosophies rages between major real estate portals, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin on Thursday jumped into the fray and threw support behind the newest entrant in the space, Homes.com.

Reffkin was asked about Homes.com’s “your listing, your lead” strategy that aims to direct consumers to listing agents, and about Andy Florance, CEO of Homes.com parent CoStar. “Do you agree with him?”

“Yes,” Reffkin simply replied.

Replacing NAR

Kayla works for Mauricio at the Agency, and she sent this in! If listing agents recognize the value of buyer-agents and convince their sellers to pay them a decent commission, then the current model might survive. Or will they take the lazy way out and just hope buyers come to them directly without an agent? It is also possible that the courts will outlaw sellers paying a buyer-agent commission, which will force the issue – I hope we get some notice on that!

Two prominent real estate agents have started a new trade association in a direct swipe at the embattled National Association of Realtors.

Founded more than 100 years ago, the group known as N.A.R. has long held sway over the American real estate industry, collecting hundreds of millions of dollars in annual dues from its 1.5 million members. It owns the trademark to the word “Realtor.” But in recent years, the organization has been saddled with a barrage of antitrust lawsuits and sexual harassment allegations. Over the past several months, multiple top leaders have stepped down, stoking concerns in the industry that the organization is on the edge of implosion.

Jason Haber, a New York agent with Compass, and Mauricio Umansky, the Los Angeles-based celebrity agent and founder of the luxury brokerage the Agency, told The New York Times that their new group, the American Real Estate Association, could be an alternative.

Mr. Umansky said that A.R.E.A. will offer its members a nationwide database of home listings as an alternative, built from the technology he acquired for his own private listings service. That platform, which they’re calling the National Listing Service, is currently live with limited listings at theNLS.com.

“A centralized database with access to the full scope of listings across the country is better for everyone in the industry, and someone just had to do it,” Mr. Umansky said.

In addition, A.R.E.A. will allow agents to set their own commission rates and will not require any cooperation between buyer and seller agents.

Organizationally, A.R.E.A. will not have a president and vice president, Mr. Haber said. He emphasized that rather than seeking to replace the 100-year-old association, his goal was to offer something new.

“N.A.R. was too big to fail, until it failed,” he said. “People want something different. We’re setting ourselves up for failure if we try to replicate the N.A.R. model.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/23/realestate/american-real-estate-association-nar.html

(‘cooperation’ = sellers paying a buyer-agent commission).

Get Good Help

I try not to double up the content here, and this was only linked in a previous blog post so I’m not sure how many readers saw this previously. But it is noteworthy!

https://consumerfed.org/reports/a-surfeit-of-real-estate-agents-3-abundant-jobs-inadequate-mentorship-and-few-sales/

This third report on a surfeit of agents focuses on the role of real estate companies in the creation of the glut and related incompetence of many agents.

Our analysis of the sales experience of 2000 representative agents from large companies in five different areas revealed that there is an even greater surfeit than we and many others had imagined. Nearly one-half (49%) of these agents had none or only one sale in the previous year while nearly three-quarters (70%) had five sales or fewer. Almost all of these agents hold another steadier job or are retired. For most agents, the residential real estate industry is truly a part-time business. Yet despite this agent glut, many large companies keep recruiting new agents, often regardless of agent qualifications. They do so largely because of four factors – high agent turnover rate, new agent sales to friends and family members, fees paid by these agents, and limited liability for these agents since they are independent contractors. For these same reasons, many companies continue an association with agents even when the agents routinely sell only one or no properties a year.

The surfeit of agents ensures that many will not be able to receive adequate personal training and mentorship. One agent reported that a managing agent had been assigned responsibility for more than 100 agents. Large companies do make available on-line training but many agents report that what new agents really need is experience working with a veteran agent and close supervision by a broker while they are selling properties. That close supervision is not required by most states. Of the 50 states (and DC) we examined, only seven require closer supervision of new agents than more experienced ones. Furthermore, that close supervision is often not clearly defined, and we have seen little evidence that state regulators have focused on the issue.

Consequently, some companies and agencies feel permitted to adopt a “sink or swim” approach to their new agents that certainly is not to the benefit of their consumer clients. There are roles for states, the National Association of Realtors, and individual companies and agencies in addressing this issue. State legislatures should require close broker supervision of inexperienced agents beyond checking paperwork. Colorado, Illinois, and Montana not only require closer supervision but define what this supervision entails. States should also follow the lead of those states, a small minority, that require agents to receive post-licensing education on the practicalities of selling property. Moreover, regulators should intervene when the complaints they receive show evidence of inadequate training and supervision.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) could play a role differentiating inexperienced sales agents from full-time professionals by raising the standards of earning Realtor status. Today, few consumers understand or are influenced by this status. If NAR were, for example, to require more experience and competence from Realtors then publicize this difference, consumers would more likely hire these agents. These requirements could include, for instance, selling more than five properties in the previous year and initially passing a new exam on the practicalities of selling property.

Many companies and agencies take seriously the training of new agents, yet many do not. The latter should recognize that heightened consumer awareness of industry practices resulting from class action litigation is likely to encourage more informed selection of agents. The industry should also recognize that increasing the number of agents does not appreciably affect home sales but does reduce the average income of individual agents and brokers. Companies and agencies should value full-time professional agents and brokers more highly than part-time sales agents who are engaged in other occupations.

The glut of agents and the inadequate training and experience of many has an important implication for consumers. Both home sellers and buyers should choose their agents carefully. These consumers should pay particular attention to the number of recent sales and client evaluations of the agents considered. Both Zillow and Realtor.com list this information about many agents, and this information tends to be more objective than that offered by referral agencies. Consumers should be wary of agents without an informative listing on either website. Friends and family members who have recently sold or purchased a home can also be consulted, yet consumers should also use Zillow and Realtor.com to supplement the information these individuals provide.

Click here for the full report:

https://consumerfed.org/reports/a-surfeit-of-real-estate-agents-3-abundant-jobs-inadequate-mentorship-and-few-sales/

Net Listing

Sellers can decide their price in the beginning, and I’ll take the rest:

A net listing is used only with sellers, not buyers. It is structured as either an open or an exclusive type of listing. The net listing is distinguishable from all other listing arrangements due to the way a broker’s compensation is calculated.

In a net listing, the broker’s fee is not based on a percentage of the selling price.

Instead, the seller’s net sales price (excluding broker fees and closing costs) to be received by the seller on closing is stated in the listing agreement. The broker’s fee equals whatever amount the buyer pays in excess of the seller’s net figure and closing costs.

However, the broker discloses to the seller the full sales price paid by the buyer and the amount of the broker’s residual fee before the seller accepts an offer on a net listing. Failure to disclose to the client the benefits the broker receives on any transaction leads to loss of the entire fee. [Calif. Business and Professions Code §10176(g)]

For example, if the seller enters into a net listing agreement with a broker for a net sales price of $500,000, the broker will not receive a fee if the seller accepts an offer selling the property for $500,000 or less.

On the other hand, if the property sells for $575,000, the broker’s fee is $75,000, minus the seller’s other transaction costs.

Net listings tend to be unpopular with the Department of Real Estate (DRE) and consumer protection organizations, and have been outlawed in some states, but not California.

Net listings are particularly prone to claims from buyers and sellers that the broker has been involved in misrepresentations and unfair dealings. These claims are generally based on an improper valuation of the property at the time of the listing or a failure to disclose the fee received by the broker when the property sells.

If the seller thinks the broker’s fee is excessive, the seller is likely to complain they were improperly advised about the property’s fair market value (FMV) when employing the broker.

Thus, net listings are used sparingly, if at all. If a net listing is used, sale documentation is to include complete disclosures stating:

  • the property’s value;
  • the price paid by a buyer; and
  • the resulting fee amount.
Link to Article

Single Agency Coming Soon

The gradual phasing out of buyer-agents is underway, and it shouldn’t be long now.

Zillow’s new format features the listing agent’s phone number under the main photo!

The three-headed agent display was removed and now when a reader clicks on the right side for Request a tour or Contact agent, they are linked to the Zillow call center instead. There they get processed/qualified on the phone by Zillow employees, sent to Zillow Mortgage, and then get assigned to an agent who is paying big money to Zillow for the privledge.

Buyers will figure it out pretty quick. By clicking on the right side, you get a 3rd party agent who isn’t the listing agent and has never been to the home. With the listing agent’s phone number now prominently displayed, it is inevitable that buyers will call the listing agent next time.

If they need a prompt, they will get one when they start clicking on the photos – which every viewer does immediately. This is what they will see now:

Yep – the listing agent is in the upper-left corner of every photo!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2533-Camulos-St-San-Diego-CA-92107/16966353_zpid/

With the threat of buyers having to pay a buyer-agent a hefty commission out of pocket, it will be irresistible for them to contact the listing agent to see what they have to offer – in hopes of avoiding a separate payment due to a buyer-agent. The listing agents will be happy to oblige because they will already have their full fee packed into the listing side.

By the time the realtor lawsuits get resolved, it will be too late – there won’t be any need for a buyer-agent.

Zillow is offering a full marketing package to listing agents too.

Package Includes:

    • Listing Placement Boost on Zillow
    • HD Photography
    • Aerial Photography
    • Social Media Reel
    • 3D Tour
    • “NEW” AI Generated Interactive Floor Plan
    • Listing Website
    • Enhanced Listing Agent Branding
    • Capture New Leads From Your Zillow Profile

The Listing Placement Boost on Zillow?

Listing agents who purchase a marketing package will have their new listings displayed first in the home’s area for seven days – a very nice feature for agents looking to capture buyers for their listings.

While the rest of the industry was grumbling about lawsuits over the last few months, Zillow created a new format that will solve everything. But nobody knows what fee the listing agent charges because it is never disclosed to anyone but the seller – the person who just wants to hurry up and get their money.

Hiring A Realtor

What is the best thing a consumer can do to prepare for the 2024 selling season?

Get Good Help!

To check an agent’s qualifications, go to Zillow and click on the Agent Finder at the top of their page. Zillow wants you to use one of the agents they display prominently, but all you know about them is that those agents pay the most money to be featured there.

If you have a realtor you are investigating, you’ve probably checked their business website – and noticed how they all tend to look the same. It’s why Zillow is the reliable go-to website, because they are pulling the sales data directly from the MLS so agents can’t manipulate it.

What are you looking for?

You want to hire an experienced agent who has a well-honed set of sales skills. An agent who has proven history of getting a variety of people to the finish line. An agent who can handle anything that happens, and still deliver a smooth and easy experience for you.

Things to Consider:

  1. A well-qualified agent should be closing at least one sale per month.
  2. Agents who represent sellers and buyers have a better grasp of the big picture.
  3. Those who successfully work a larger area have sales skills that travel.
  4. The agent reviews is where you can find out who is doing the actual work.
  5. There are agents who get 5.0 on every review, so don’t settle for less.
  6. Years of experience isn’t as important as number of sales in the last 12 months.

Everyone is in a hurry and wants to grab and go. But if there was ever a time to patiently investigate the choices, it’s when you’re making one of the most critical decisions of your life.

Get Good Help!

https://www.zillow.com/profile/Jim-Klinge/

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