What do you think about commission sharing solutions?
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Each week on Download, Inman’s Christy Murdoch goes deeper into the week’s hottest stories to give you the information you need to face Monday. This week: What do you think about commission sharing solutions?
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Most of the storms and stress On March 15, the National Association of Realtors and plaintiffs announced a settlement in a series of commission-related lawsuits that have largely focused on how buyer agent commissions can or should be paid.
Should buyers pay out of pocket on top of the down payment and closing costs? Should the status quo of seller pays prevail, just through a new method of communication? What impact will this have on these options, or a super-secret third option that has yet to be specified?
Almost immediately, agents and brokers began discussing sharing commission information through their websites, phone calls, email blasts, and by listing seller offers instead of commissions. Meanwhile, others are beginning to look for ways to provide and monetize workarounds to help address the relationship between the new requirements and the continued need for payroll information.
Since NAR’s landmark settlement prohibits seller’s agents from offering commissions to buyer’s agents in the MLS, the question becomes: How will buyer’s agents now be compensated? A new group of companies is stepping in to try to answer that question and fill the void, offering something the MLS no longer offers: Agents and consumers can share their compensation packages online.
These locations represent a particular philosophical understanding of the future of real estate. Their existence means buyers’ agents will still be paid by sellers and compensation offers will still appear online. None of these assumptions are foregone conclusions, but the people behind these products are moving forward in the hope that consumers and industry members will see something they like and that government regulators won’t stand in the way.
Of course, it will probably be years before all the legal maneuvering is fully wrapped up and we have any type of certainty about what is and isn’t allowed. With these workarounds, and any other innovations that emerge in the short term, the best advice is buyer beware. (Also, I should add that Inman does not endorse these products.)
So if you feel a solution is too risky, what can you do to plan ahead, prepare and put yourself on the right side of every conversation once the August 17th implementation deadline arrives? As usual, our Inman contributors (all industry heavyweights) are here to provide you with the answers you need.
