For two months we've been settling in with the new arrangements for paying the buyer-agents. I haven't heard of any buyers yet who got stuck having to pay their buyer-agent because the seller refused to pay. Undoubtably, there are buyer-agents who were paid a partial...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
