It's going to be tough on the newer agents going forward. The commission lawsuit stuff isn't the big concern. Sales are likely to keep dropping, and at the same time the better agents are picking up market share. There aren't enough sales to go around for every...
Realtors Talking Shop
Owning Manhattan
The other real estate reality shows are so full of drama that they are barely watchable. While they do pack some drama into Ryan's new show, Owning Manhattan on Netflix, they mix in a few examples of him doing a masterful job of negotiating between agents and...
Buyer-Agent Commission Solution
Hat tip to Carl Streicher, mortgage broker, for sending over this handy chart on allowable concessions, also known as seller contributions. This is how the buyer-agent commission can be included as a part buyer's mortgage package, even if the seller didn't sign the...
Read the Contract!
This business used to be civil. It was probably obvious that the contracts were drawn up by the realtor attorneys to protect realtors, but there were adequate protections for buyers and sellers too. This commission lawsuit has changed everything, and now they only...
Realtors Fleeing The Business
There will be fewer agents, which is a good thing. There are 20,000+ realtors in San Diego County, and last month there were 2,113 sales of attached and detached homes. Hat tip to Greg for sending in this article! When real estate broker April Strickland looks at her...
DOJ Speaks Up
The elimination of buyer-agents continues: The U.S. Department of Justice broke its silence in court on Tuesday on the impending changes coming for the real estate industry in the wake of settlement agreements by major brokerages and the National Association of...
Buyer-Broker Agreement – The Problem
Every realtor-related entity is scrambling right now to train agents how to get their buyers to agree to a contractual relationship where the buyer pays the buyer-agent commission. It would all be well and good - and be similar to the listing agreement we have with...
Hiring a Buyer-Agent
The commission lawsuits and action by the DOJ will cause buyers to wonder if they need to pay for representation, and what do they get if they do. It will also be a function of how much it costs. If the service was free, everyone would do it. It's been like that in...
Dominance vs. Fiduciary
These Palo Alto guys have been making national headlines since they rolled out their reduced-commission program last week. They are offering a $10,000 fee to buyer-agents, instead of a percentage, AND encouraging buyers to come directly to the listing agent to avoid...
Buyer-Agent Compensation
Yesterday, we attended Gov's annual update on new laws and forms for 2024. He touched on many topics - including that landlords in California might be agreeing to tenants for life because it's so hard legally to get rid of them - but the most interesting was his...