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I told you so, oh I told you so . . .
One of the most dangerous statements you can make is: “Well, that would just neevvvverrrr happen to me.” Similar to people telling you that it’s impossible for 2008 to ever happen again.
Key topics:
✔️ After all the FOMO & YOLO in the markets of 2020 & 2021, what did you think was gonna happen?
✔️ Could a number of realtors be replaced by technology and FSBO scenarios? Yes, probably so.
✔️ Knowing your market and being TRUTHFUL about your market = you staying in business and having loyal clients when others are folding. Lying, cheating, maneuvering, getting out during a bust cycle, etc. = going under.
✔️ In some respects, the death knell rang when the internet was released to the public. ♀️ Sorry, not sorry.
-“Will realtors vanish?” published on November 9, 2023 https://www.buzzsprout.com/1125110/13889869
The huge $418 million realtor settlement means you can find a home online without having to pay a buyer’s agent commission
A powerful real estate trade group has agreed to do away with policies that for decades helped set agent commissions, moving to resolve lawsuits that claim the rules have forced people to pay artificially inflated costs to sell their homes.
Under the terms of the agreement announced Friday, the National Association of Realtors also agreed to pay $418 million to help compensate home sellers across the U.S.
Home sellers behind multiple lawsuits against the NAR and several major brokerages argued that the trade group’s rules governing homes listed for sale on its affiliated Multiple Listing Services unfairly propped up agent commissions. The rules also incentivized agents representing buyers to avoid showing their clients listings where the seller’s broker was offering a lower commission to the buyer’s agent, they argued.
As part of the settlement, the NAR agreed to no longer require a broker advertising a home for sale on MLS to offer any upfront compensation to a buyer’s agent. The rule change leaves it open for individual home sellers to negotiate such offers with a buyer’s agent outside of the MLS platforms, though the home seller’s broker has to disclose any such compensation arrangements.
The trade group also agreed to require agents or others working with a homebuyer to enter into a written agreement with them. That is meant to ensure homebuyers know going in what their agent will charge them for their services. . . .
Analysts with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also anticipate that the NAR rule changes will lead to lower agent commissions and could persuade some homebuyers to skip using an agent altogether.
–https://fortune.com/2024/03/16/what-does-real-estate-realtor-settlement-mean-housing-market/ emphasis mine
Realtors were deemed “essential” workers during the pandemic yet a lot of them offered video walkthroughs, which cannot compare to actually seeing a property in person for yourself. Photos and 3D tours can paper over a multitude of issues. If someone’s job has been reduced to a video walkthrough or turning a key in the door and telling a potential buyer, “Alright, go look around and lemme know if ya got questions,” what’s the point?