This week I’m discussing how the NAR settlement is going to impact buyer agents & listing agents.
We think the biggest change will be that before a buyer agent works with a buyer, there needs to be a written agreement in place on where there is agreement with buyer and agent on price and service level prior to seeing homes.
Sometimes in our industry there have been a lot of hobbyists with lack of professionalism and training. Many agents are poorly trained and have been able to make a living by just showing up to show a home, and then buyers move through the process toward closing and realize their agent is poorly trained and not giving the assistance they assumed they would be getting.
Much like when you work with an attorney or financial advisor, you agree up front to the terms of the service provided and what the cost is prior to engaging in any activity.
In the past, in our industry, many agents say “work with me, it is free”, but really no one works for free…the seller had paid the fee to the agent and buyer paid for it also in the price they paid for the home.
Like with an attorney or financial advisor, buyer agents will now have to lay out what they are going to to do for a buyer, their experience, and how they will be paid. This will now give the buying public a clue as to their professionalism and experience prior to engaging in a relationship with a buyers agent.
We are excited about this at Shannon Rollings Real Estate, because I don’t think there will be much change for our agents.
We have always had a proven system from search through closing that each and every one of our clients goes through to experience a smoother road to sold. We have dedicated closing agents to take you from contract to closing day.
Our agents have an extensive mentorship program over several months and also includes 80 hours of continuing education annually where most agents have only 12 hours every 2 years that is required by law for their license.
For listing agents, the change is that agents will no longer negotiate the fee that will be paid to the buyer agent at the listing appointment into the listing agreement. Only the listing fee will be in the contract. However I think smart sellers will still budget in their mind to cover this expense for the buyer agent as probably 85% of buyers in our market get loans and simply don’t have the funds to have their down payment along with their loan closing costs and then also agent fees.
Most buyers getting loans will likely decide with their buyer agent that they only can see homes where sellers are willing to cover this fee. And sellers want as many people as possible to see their home to get the best overall contract, so smart sellers will still likely budget for this expense in order to get the most showings and best overall offer from buyers. For a seller, it is all about their bottomline net after all costs and if the price with paying buyer agent fee still meets their needs, they will likely agree to cover this closing expense as they have for years.
If you have questions about how the NAR Settlement may affect you when it goes into effect, don’t hesitate to give me a call, text or email. My team and I are on standby 7 days a week ready to help you take the smoother road to sold.
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