The Crazy Days of Real Estate are Here!
Welcome to the Crazy Days of Real Estate. The 2024 real estate flood waters have subsided a bit, and we need to relook at the tidal wave of changes to the real estate industry. Since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) lawsuit change became effective on August 17, we must reiterate two main areas of change that directly impact you as a seller or a buyer of real estate.
1) Sellers: Effective August 17, 2024, if you list your home for sale, you’re no longer required to pay the buyer’s agent compensation or a portion of that compensation. BTW, we no longer are calling this payment “commission.” We now call it “compensation.” The buyer’s broker is an extremely valuable partner for a successful real estate close, and I highly recommend offering them a fair “compensation.” We work hard for our fees!
2) Buyers: Before a realtor is allowed to show you any home or land, you’re required to agree to a prenegotiated compensation for your broker. That fee can be a flat fee, an hourly fee, or a percentage of the sale. A “success” fee may be offered by the seller or the listing realtor, or you will pay the difference! In Colorado, the Buyers Right to Buy Listing Contract needs to be completed and signed before you look at property.
In addition to the seller and buyer changes, there is one area that directly impacts how I do my job. As of August 17th, the notice of compensation for a listed property cannot be shown on any MLS. Nor are listing realtors allowed to “hint” or “infer” about offered compensation. There are particular words that we may not use when listing a property. In addition, according to the code of ethics that realtors support, we may not steer buyers only to homes that provide compensation. We must contact the listing agent directly now or track the compensation offered on websites or social media.
[True Story] I was listing a home near the August 17th cutoff time and in the remarks I mentioned, for more information, contact Nancy Page Cooper at my phone number as well as directing them to my website. The MLS did not allow me to list the house, flagging errors repeatedly. Finally, I contacted the help desk. They didn’t understand the problem and had to investigate. Turns out, because my last name, Cooper, contains the word “coop,” I had to change the wording to “Please call the Realtor for more information.” Really?? So now I cannot use my full name in listings? Ha Ha!