03/20/2024
Facebook and KJP, like to censor people and say that social media should delete misinformation. I just read an article in the New York Times by Rukmini Callimachi and Debra Kamin.. "A settlement reached this week threatens to strike a blow to an established standard of residential real estate: the 6 percent sales commission".
This is a flat out lie and the public is getting their information from uninformed and assuming so called journalists like this which has caused this MYTH and fallacy to be repeated over and over again. The more someone repeats something, the more true it becomes to them even if its a lie.
There is NO standard in real estate commissions. There NEVER was a standard in commissions. In my opinion, NAR should demand an apology from these two and a reprint clarification at the very least. These are the people, not the realtors, that have caused this lie to be perpetuated.
As I sift through this settlement, the only thing I see coming of it is making it more difficult for homebuyers, especially first time and in many cases veterans, to have their own representation if they now don't have the funds to pay their own agent.
Lending practices will have to change. Fees to pay the buyers representative will have to be allowed to be financed if the buyer doesn't have it or they will have to use the sellers representative or agent that works in the sellers best interest.
I believe this has opened pandoras box. It may have created my problems than what was not even there. The truth in the matter, is that the buyer ultimately paid for BOTH agent in the final purchase price, not the seller. The seller has a bottom line that they want or need which includes the listing agents fee AND the amount or COOPERATION compensation shared. The buyer either accepts the selling amount or the seller doesn't sell. I dont understand how the legal counsel for NAR couldn't show this simple econ 101 standard among other items glaring at them that the seller did NOT pay a buyers agent to work against them.
The silver lining to this is that the agents will now have to show their worth and negotiating skills. It will make brokers be more accountable and train the agents accordingly. This is a good thing for our industry and for the consumer.
Now we all get the facts out that there never was a standard or that there is no standard commission rate, always negotiable, and stop allowing this horrendous media from telling our story and the facts.
