Changes in real estate 2024

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What is changing in real estate? 

How do these changes impact sellers and buyers?

Home Sellers: Here's What the NAR Settlement Means for You

As a home seller, you have a wide
range of choices when it comes to listing your home. Agents who are REALTORS®
are a trusted source of advice and stand ready to help you navigate this complex
process and make the choices that work best for you. NAR’s recent settlement
has led to several changes related to broker commissions that benefit sellers,
and we wanted to clearly lay them out for you.

Here is what the settlement means for
home sellers:

• You still have the choice of
  offering compensation to buyer brokers. You may consider doing this as a
  way of marketing your home or making your listing more attractive to
  buyers.
• Your agent must conspicuously
  disclose to you and obtain your approval for any payment or offer of
  payment that a listing broker will make to another broker acting for
  buyers.
• This disclosure must be made to
  you in writing in advance of any payment or agreement to pay another
  broker acting for buyers and must specify the amount or rate of such
  payment.
• If you choose to approve an offer
  of compensation, there are changes to how this can happen.
• You as the seller can still make
  an offer compensation, but your agent cannot include it on a Multiple
  Listing Service (MLS)—MLSs are local marketplaces used by both buyer
  brokers and listing brokers to share information about properties for
  sale.
• Your agent can advertise your
  listing via off-MLS platforms such as social media, flyers and websites.
• You as the seller can still offer
  buyer concessions on an MLS (for example, concessions for buyer closing
  costs).

These settlement practice changes will
go into effect August 17.

Here is what the settlement doesn’t
change:

• Agents who are REALTORS® are here
  to help you navigate the process of selling your home and are ethically
  obligated to work in your best interest.
• Compensation for your agent
  remains fully negotiable, and if your agent is a REALTOR®, they must abide
  by the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and have clear and transparent discussions
  with you about compensation. When finding an agent to work with, ask
  questions about compensation and discuss what you would like to offer
  buyers.
• You have choices. Work with your agent to
  understand the full range of these choices when selling your home, which
  will help you make the best possible decision for your needs.More details about these changes and
  what they mean can be found at facts.realtor.

Home buyers: Here's What the NAR Settlement Means for You

Buying a home is one of the largest
financial transactions most people will ever undertake. Agents who are
REALTORS® are a trusted source of advice and stand ready to help you navigate
your homebuying journey and make the choices that work best for you. NAR’s
recent settlement has led to several changes that benefit homebuyers, and we
wanted to clearly lay them out for you.

Here is what the settlement means for
home buyers:

• You will sign a written agreement
  with your agent before touring a home.
• Before signing this agreement,
  you should ensure it reflects the terms you have negotiated with your
  agent and that you understand exactly what services and value will be
  provided, and for how much.
• The buyer agreement must include
  four components concerning compensation:

1. A specific and conspicuous disclosure of the amount or rate of
   compensation the real estate agent will receive or how this amount will be
   determined.
2. Compensation that is objective (e.g., $0, X flat fee, X percent, X
   hourly rate)—and not open-ended (e.g., cannot be “buyer broker
   compensation shall be whatever the amount the seller is offering to the
   buyer”).
3. A term that prohibits the agent from receiving compensation for
   brokerage services from any source that exceeds the amount or rate agreed
   to in the agreement with the buyer; and,
4. A conspicuous statement that broker fees and commissions are fully
   negotiable and not set by law.

• Written agreements apply to both
  in-person and live virtual home tours.
• You do not need a written
  agreement if you are just speaking to an agent at an open house or asking
  them about their services.
• The seller may agree to offer
  compensation to your agent. This practice is permitted but the offer
  cannot be shared on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS)— MLSs are local
  marketplaces used by both buyer brokers and listing brokers to share
  information about properties for sale.
• You can still accept concessions
  from the seller, such as offers to pay your closing costs.

These practice changes will go into
effect August 17.

Here is what the settlement doesn’t
change:

• Agents who are REALTORS® are here
  to help you navigate the homebuying process and are ethically obligated to
  work in your best interest.
• Compensation for your agent
  remains fully negotiable, and if your agent is a REALTOR®, they must abide
  by the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and have clear and transparent discussions
  with you about compensation. When finding an agent to work with, ask
  questions about compensation and understand what services you are
  receiving.
• You have choices. Work with your
  agent to understand the full range of these choices when buying a home,
  which will help you make the best possible decision for your needs.

More details about these changes and
what they mean can be found at facts.realtor.