ROANOKE, Va. – A major antitrust settlement involving the National Association of Realtors went into effect over the weekend. And if you’re in the market to buy and sell a home, the changes could have an impact on the transactions.
”At our brokerage, we’re viewing this as an opportunity. it’s an opportunity for agents that represent buyers to distinguish themselves and show their value,” said Landon Johnson, with Five Stone Realty Group in Roanoke. “Ultimately, we are educators. we educate the buyer through the process of buying a home.”
These new rules change the way realtors are paid.
Here’s how it used to work: An agent for a person selling a home would typically take a 5 or 6 percent commission on the home’s price. It was intended to be shared with the buyer’s agent. It was considered a standard, if informal, practice.
A series of lawsuits alleged this system was unfair. The plaintiffs said it encouraged a buyer’s agent to steer people toward homes with higher commissions.
So this new settlement changes things in two major ways:
- An agent’s compensation can’t be included on multiple listing services, but it can be advertised elsewhere.
- Buyer’s agents must now discuss their compensation upfront and those agents must into a written buyer’s agreement before touring a property together. Virginia is one of the states where that is already the law.
Some say the new rules may give buyers even more caution because they may have to pay their agents on their own, but Virginia REALTORS® advises against that.
“Make sure you’ve got somebody who can be in your corner, who can help guide you through this process,” said Laura Murray, general counsel for Virginia REALTORS®. “We’ve heard a lot of talk nationally about ‘oh, I’ll just handle it myself to save some money.’ And you may not be actually saving any money by doing that.”
Johnson said it’s too soon to tell whether the changes will impact home prices.
“Ultimately, transparency is going to help everybody,” he said. “Sitting down and explaining that process before we go out and look at homes, I think really will benefit everyone.”