We are experiencing some new changes in our industry that are important for buyers and sellers to be aware of.
First, a seller or listing broker is no longer required to offer compensation to the broker that brings the buyer. In the past, in order to have a property listed in the MLS, meaning it’s shown to all the local agents and pushed to all the sites such as Zillow and realtor.com, the seller or listing brokerage was *required* to offer compensation to the broker who was working with the buyer.
Well, we are no longer required to do so.
We can still incentivize buyers and buyer's agents by offering compensation though, and the amount itself can now be negotiated within the contract, becoming another negotiation factor between the buyer and seller.
The biggest questions I have are, will the number of showings we receive on your property be a direct correlation to a commission being offered or not? Or if it’s not being offered, will they still look regardless and then potentially negotiate it into the contract?
Now, this is all new to us so I won’t be able to answer these questions or say what’s common in our market until we’re down the road a bit.
Next, we will now be required to have a written agreement with a buyer PRIOR to showing homes. We've always believed meeting with a new buyer prior to looking at homes ensures our buyers have a great buying experience, so this change won't affect us too much. It's in the buyers best interest to fully understand the process and start at step one, versus jumping into looking at homes and then having to backtrack.
These changes must be implemented by August 17th, 2024 at the latest.
Questions? I'd be happy to answer. Reach out anytime!
Amanda Zaddock
amanda@elitewestrealty.com
307-296-6135