Search results for: “Multiple Listing Service”
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Seniors’ Advocates Urge States to Ban Predatory ‘Cash for Listing’ Contracts
States are outlawing listing agreements that bind homeowners to specific companies to sell their homes in the future. In the last two years, 30 states have acted to prevent businesses from taking control of people’s property by recording brokers’ contracts against their deeds. The agreements can result in restrictions, liens, or even stealth mortgages recorded…
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“Cash for Listing”: Getting Paid to Commit to a Future Real Estate Broker
The Companies Placing 40-Year Listing Rights on Deeds A listing agreement is the document the seller signs so a real estate pro can start marketing a home. It commits the homeowner to work with the broker. Would you feel comfortable committing to one particular real estate broker for 40 years? Some homeowners are doing just…
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Paying the Agents: In “Post-Commission” Times, Buyers Finally Have a Say
Last year, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) settled a major lawsuit and agreed to change the way agents get paid. Buyers now know they’re covering their agents’ commissions themselves. Once NAR agreed to new rules, as part of the $418 million lawsuit settlement, some people predicted a new wave of buyer-friendly competition among agents.…
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Should Brokers Keep For-Sale Homes Hidden?
It’s the Real Estate Industry’s Latest Debate — Pocket Listings Our regular readers know about recent changes in real estate practices. The big changes came out of settlements by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and large brokerage firms in response to class-action court cases. NAR had to give up its long-running practice of having…
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Selling Without a Real Estate Agent? New Incentives, New Challenges
You might have heard that selling your home yourself could save you thousands of dollars in agent commissions. It’s a fact. Putting your home up For Sale By Owner (FSBO) is one way to get around agent commissions — which do still exist! Yet there are hurdles as well as potential rewards for the FSBO…
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Seller-Paid Agent Commissions Are Over in August. How Will Buying Homes Change?
Effective August 17, sellers won’t have to agree to pay both sides’ commissions up front when they list their homes for sale. And agents can no longer communicate “offers of compensation” to other agents through their local Multiple Listing Services. August will mark “a time of adjustment,” says Kevin Sears, who recently took the role…
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Buyer’s Market in Dallas? It’s All Relative.
Lately, the homes for sale in Dallas stay on the market a little longer. Little by little, sellers are lowering their price expectations, and Dallas home buyers are getting deals. Homes in Dallas stayed on the market, on average, for 37 days in April 2024. That’s up 8% compared to last year. Some (about 12%)…
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What’s the Latest With AI in Real Estate? Ask Claire.
A company named reAlpha is a publicly traded firm focused on property technology — proptech. And it’s very big on artificial intelligence. But who’s Claire? That’s reAlpha’s Smart Buyer’s Agent. Claire is powered by generative AI. Claire helps the home buyer pick out the best homes to consider. Claire then provides data-informed virtual tours, and…
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It’s Election Year. How Will This Affect Sellers and Buyers?
As we enter an election year the current administration points to how strong the economy is. But there’s a disconnect between these regular public assurances and people’s life experiences. So many are either locked into their current mortgages or just completely sidelined from the market. This is no joke: High mortgage rates. Wages lagging while…
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Legal Update: NAR’s Ready to Settle Its Lawsuit. Here’s What Home Sellers and Buyers Stand to Gain.
Sellers could soon be spending less to sell their homes. This month, after previously vowing to fight, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) gave in and made a major change, in order to release itself from lawsuits. NAR and several brokerages were claimed to have colluded to keep agent commissions high. But soon, if a…
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Now They Want a New Trial. Could NAR Ever Drop Its “Clear Cooperation” Policy?
There’s a rule most people follow in the residential real estate world. You’re likely familiar with it. The seller covers the agent fees for both sides of the deal. The seller’s and the buyer’s agents typically split 5% or 6% between the two. Of course, the home buyer ultimately pays for it all — as…
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The “Post-MLS” Market: Is Being Your Own Agent the Future of Real Estate?
Some hopeful home buyers don’t want an agent. “Why, in the age of online marketplaces and bank apps,” they might ask… “Can’t I find a home myself and make a deal with the owner?” Some write to owners, asking who wants to sell person-to-person — no agents. No bidding wars. No agent commissions. “And why…
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REALTORS® Reel From Burnett v. NAR Verdict
Bombshell Verdict Promises to Transform Home Sale Deals At the end of October, a federal jury in Kansas City found some of the largest U.S. real estate players liable for inflating agent commissions. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and several large brokerages colluded to set commissions, the jury found. The verdict in the Sitzer/Burnett…
