When my husband and I sold our New York City apartment last year, every broker we interviewed refused to represent it for anything less than a 5% or 6% commission. Any lesser amount, each one said, would mean other agents would refuse to show the listing to their clients or discourage their clients who came across it on an internet listing service from checking it out themselves.
This method of doing business might soon be a thing of the past.
This shady method of doing business might soon be a thing of the past.
The National Association of Realtors agreed to a deal Friday that would, pending a federal judge’s approval of the deal, put an end to a long-standing policy of not allowing registered real estate agents to list properties for sale in the widely used Multiple Listing Services database unless they included the amount of compensation the buyer’s agent could expect to receive. Listing agents would actually be banned from including that number in the posting. The policy changes, which would take effect in July, are part of a $418 million settlement of several ongoing class-action lawsuits that accused the Realtors association of wielding a monopoly-like power over America’s home sellers.
The NAR denied any wrongdoing in a Friday statement.
“NAR has worked hard for years to resolve this litigation in a manner that benefits our members and American consumers,” said Nykia Wright, interim CEO of NAR. “It has always been our goal to preserve consumer choice and protect our members to the greatest extent possible. This settlement achieves both of those goals.”
Despite record-high home prices, American home buyers might have finally caught a financial break. It is widely believed that the changes, if they’re approved by the federal court, will not only significantly decrease the commissions that real estate agents receive, but that they will also bring down the costs associated with buying and selling property. It might, in a best case scenario for…
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