NAR Settlement Overview
First let me start out by saying I am not an attorney and all the views here are my own opinions based on the public information and conversations I have had with those in the industry. The recent settlement between NAR and the DOJ contains many items that will need to be addressed and dealt with, all before July 2024 if we are to believe the initial reports. That said, there is more information to cover than we can possibly review in a short blog post, but here are some of the highlights I have spotted and will cover more deeply in future posts.
- This settlement only covers members of NAR and those companies that have completed LESS than two billion dollars in transactions.
- Since not all agents and companies are members of NAR, they are NOT covered by this agreement, but they likely will be affected by it none the less.
- This will also impact the local MLS that publish real estate information as to what they can and can’t publish.
- The outline of this agreement is supposed to be final and in place by July 2024.
- The main item of change will be the requirement of buyers to pay their own agent compensation or negotiate those fees as part of their offer to purchase.
- Secondary items are likely to have an impact on agents to represent the value of their fees, the issue of acceptance of sellers to continue to pay for buyer representation, and the likelihood that some buyers will now be blocked from home ownership due to restrictions on the amount or the ability of seller’s concessions toward purchase costs. This will especially impact many VA buyers and those who must use seller concessions to their fullest extent to get into that home.
I am working with real estate and financial professionals to dig deeper into the challenges and potential solutions. I have even reached out to members of congress to see what may or may not be possible to prevent significant disruptions to the home buying process in the future. There is a lot to discuss, if you would like to connect, please reach out: [email protected]
