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☆ New Rule for Buying a Home: Fire Your Real-Estate Agent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Albert Fox Cahn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

She had never purchased a home, and as a lawyer, I just assumed I knew how the system worked: The buyer has an agent, but the seller pays a commission (typically 6% of the sale price) that's split between their agent and the buyer's agent. So my agent wasn't going to find me my dream house, and the work of hunting was basically on me. But the real-estate industry has made it hard for many buyers to understand just how little having an agent can help. The class-action settlement with the NAR is going to make it a lot harder for sellers to be forced to pay for buyers' agents. Going forward, for people like me without an agent, a savvy seller may pay just 3% of the sales price to their own agent instead of 6% to be split with a buyer's agent.

Persons: it's, vouched, Obvious, Stephen Brobeck, Alice, Wonderland, I'd, I've, —, cosmically, Brobeck Organizations: National Association of Realtors, Hunger, US Department of Justice, Realtors, Consumer Federation of America, New York City, NAR Locations: Brooklyn, New York City, McCarren, Williamsburg, New York

☆ Premarket stocks: Why Zillow is worried about America’s housing market shakeup
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Zillow reported that it outperformed the residential real estate industry by 12 percentage points in 2023. That’s because one of the main ways Zillow makes money is through lead generation for real estate agents. “This shift in the structure of real estate transaction costs is too new to understand how it will impact housing market dynamics,” a spokesperson said. Zillow could make even more money if real estate agents offer their services piecemeal, he said. The takeawayThere’s a lot of disagreement between analysts about the future of Zillow and the real estate industry at large.

Persons: Zillow, ”, Dan Kurnos, it’s, Zillow’s, they’ll, who’s, Kurnos, ” Stephen Brobeck, “, It’s, Homes.com, William Blair Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, National Association of Realtors, Realtors, Benchmark Company, NAR, Zillow, Consumer Federation of America, CNN, Bank of America Locations: New York

☆ The way Americans buy and sell homes is about to get turned on its head
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The way Americans buy and sell homes is about to get turned on its head. And other broker tactics that critics say are anticompetitive, such as a rule that made sellers’ agents set compensation for buyers’ agents, will be prohibited. Goodbye, 6% commissionsFor decades, Americans have paid a standard commission of around 6% when selling a home, split between the seller’s broker and the buyer’s broker. A separate new rule will require buyers’ brokers to enter into written agreements with their buyers. Second, it led buyers’ brokers to push more expensive homes on buyers, so their payout would be higher.

Persons: Cowen, Stephen Brobeck, Norm Miller, Miller Organizations: CNN, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Industry, Consumer Federation of America, University of San Locations: America, University of San Diego

☆ The NAR settlement could slash home prices for many Americans
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The settlement, which is still subject to a judge’s approval, will eliminate the long-standing standard 6% commission paid by the seller. The NAR, which represents more than 1 million agents, declined to comment on whether home prices will fall as a result of the settlement. For instance, listing agents will likely continue to tell sellers that their homes will be sold faster if they pay for the buyer’s agent’s fee. That would increase how much they’re compensated since the total fee ends up getting split between listing agents and the buyer’s agents. NAR settlement or not, factors such as housing inventory, mortgage rates and consumer savings rates will “play much larger roles,” said Brobeck.

Persons: won’t, Kevin Sears, ”, Stephen Brobeck, ” Brobeck, “, ” Tomasz Piskorski, Piskorski Organizations: New, New York CNN, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Consumer Federation of America, CNN, Columbia University Locations: New York, Missouri

☆ Real-Estate Agents Use 'Steering' to Hide Cheap Houses From Homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Technically, the seller can promise as little as $0 to the buyer's agent; after all, why pay for someone you didn't hire? But multiple agents told me there are all kinds of ways shady practitioners try to skirt the rules. Critics say the stickiness of the going commission rate is evidence of steering's ubiquity. He said buyers' agents might call and say, "'Why is there no buyer's commission?" There are lots of willing brokers out there; if you suspect steering, agents told me, you've got plenty of options for a second opinion.

Persons: should've, Redfin, Julie —, Julie, Wendy Gilch, Gilch, they're, Doug Miller, Real, Rex, Keller Williams, I'm, Brendon Bowers, we're, Stephen Brobeck, Brobeck, they'll, you've, Rich, they've Organizations: Department of Justice, National Association of Realtors, Business, Facebook, Realtors, NAR, Consumer Federation of America, DOJ Locations: America, Minnesota, Austin, Houston, Kansas City , Missouri, Phoenix

☆ Opinion: Bad behavior test isn’t just about George Santos
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Michael Ryan | Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

What they do results from neurons firing in assorted regions of the brain, the product of an array of causes they can’t control. Every now and then someone bursts out crying — a member of his family has been killed, or his house destroyed. • Join us on Twitter and FacebookThere was no visible sign of progress on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Writing before the summit, Frida Ghitis noted, “Biden may want Xi to help bring down the temperature on the world’s ongoing wars and help prevent new ones from igniting. “Today’s miseries of flying derive from this choice to deregulate airlines and unleash them into the Hunger Games of ordinary incentives.

Persons: Robert M, Sapolsky, ”, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Douglas Heye, Tim Burchett, Kevin McCarthy, elbowing, McCarthy, Heye, Burchett, tortuously, Mike Johnson, Johnson, George Santos, “, ” Drew Sheneman, Julian Zelizer, Santos, ” “ Santos, Trump, ” Zelizer, John Avlon, Clay Jones, Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley's, Nikki Haley, Haley, she’d, Cupp, Hussein Ibish, ” “, Israel —, Abbas —, Fatma, Khan Younis, there’s, —, Jessica Rosenberg, Joe Biden, ” Biden, Rosenberg, “ Biden, “ Aviva Klompas, speechwriting, Laden, Osama bin Laden, Peter Bergen ,, bin, bin Laden, ’, Walt Handelsman, Joan Steinau Lester, Xi Dana Summers, Biden, Xi Jinping, Frida Ghitis, Xi, ” Peter Bergen, Juvenal, Stephen I, Vladeck, they’ll, Stephen Brobeck, ” Trump’s, Donald Trump, Dean Obeidallah, “ I’m, Barack Obama, Peter Bergen, Megan Fox, Mike Coppola, Megan Fox isn’t, Patricia Grisafi, Tupac Shakur, Billy Corgan, Alicia Keys, Mary Lambert, Florence Welch, Halsey, Lana del Rey, Bob Dylan, Grisafi, Ganesh Sitaraman, Sitaraman, ” Don’t, Fareed Zakaria, Jill Filipovic, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift Judi Ketteler, Noah Berlatsky, Nicolas, Elizabeth Debicki, Diana, Daniel Escale, Holly Thomas, Princess Diana, irresistibly, ” Thomas, Prince Charles ’, Camilla Parker, Bowles, Mohamed Al, Dodi, Spencer, Diana cavorting Organizations: CNN, Teamsters, House Republican, “ Tennessee Republican, Democrats, George Santos of New, Content Agency Santos, Long Island Republicans, GOP, Guinness, World Records, Democrat, CNN Former UN, New Hampshire, Trump, Fox News, West Bank, Gulf States Institute, Fatah, Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, “ Aviva, United Nations, Guardian, Agency, Biden, San Francisco Wednesday, China, Twitter, Consumer Federation of America, Democratic, Fox, “, Hunger Games, Liberty ’, Netflix Locations: George Santos of, George Santos of New York, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New, Israel, Gaza, Washington, Gaza City, Minneapolis, Iran, United States, America, al Qaeda, San, Ukraine, China, Mexico, Kansas City , Missouri, New Hampshire, Nazi Germany, Ohio, Al

☆ A $1.8 billion earthquake just hit the real estate industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

On Tuesday afternoon at a courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri, the collective nightmare of the real-estate industry became reality. For decades, the basic structure of how real-estate agents get paid when they help someone buy or sell their home has remained roughly the same. Here's how it works: When you list your home for sale on an MLS, you're required to offer a commission to the buyer's agent. The good buyer's agents who can prove their value will be fine, Brobeck predicted. The wild thing is, the decision could be just the beginning of tumult for the real-estate industry.

Persons: Burnett, —, Stephen Brobeck, Brobeck, Mike Rosenthal, Rosenthal, Sellers, Saul Klein, you've, Klein, Keller Williams, Bob Goldberg, Inman, Opendoor, James Rodriguez Organizations: National Association of Realtors, NAR, MLS, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer, nab, New York Times, Justice Department Locations: Kansas City , Missouri, Missouri , Illinois, Kansas, California

☆ Real-estate agents may be forced to charge home buyers less, thanks to a new $1.8 billion verdict
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

On Tuesday afternoon at a courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri, the collective nightmare of the real-estate industry became reality. For decades, the basic structure of how real-estate agents get paid when they help someone buy or sell their home has remained roughly the same. Here's how it works: When you list your home for sale on an MLS, you're required to offer a commission to the buyer's agent. The good buyer's agents who can prove their value will be fine, Brobeck predicted. Buyers might also start making offers on the condition that the seller agrees to pay both agents' commissions — otherwise, no deal.

☆ After a $1.8 billion verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% real estate commission
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And yet, every day, people across America hire a real estate agent to help them sell a home. While state governments license real estate agents, NAR has an extensive code of ethics it expects members to adhere to. NAR and the brokerages have vowed to appeal the verdict, which means real estate commissions aren’t going anywhere immediately. Last month Redfin, an internet real estate company, left the association. The longer-term impact of the verdict may be that the pairing of buyer’s agent commission and seller’s agent commission will eventually be separated.

Persons: Keller Williams, –, Corcoran —, Kenny Parcell, ”, Mantill Williams, Darryl Frost, homesellers, Stephen Brobeck, ” Brobeck, Jen Davis, ” Davis, “, they’ll Organizations: DC CNN, National Association of Realtors, Homeservices, Keller, Keller Williams Realty, Coldwell Banker, Sotheby’s, Realty, NAR, US Department of Justice, “, Consumer, Consumer Federation of America, Holt Homes Group Locations: Washington, America, Missouri, Keefe, Springfield , Missouri

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A series of court challenges are seeking to upend longstanding real estate industry practices that determine the commissions agents receive on the sale of a home — and who foots the bill. But already the NAR and several real estate brokerages are facing another lawsuit over agent commission rules. As home prices have soared in recent years, pushing the national median sales price to $394,300 as of September, so have agents’ commissions. Traditionally, that works out to a 5% to 6% commission split roughly evenly between the buyer’s and seller’s agents. “The real solution is for buyers to be able to finance the buyer-agent commissions as part of their mortgages.

Persons: “, ” Mantill Williams, Williams, Fresh, ’, ” Williams, ”, Stephen Brobeck, Max, Brobeck, Michelle Chapman Organizations: ANGELES, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Western, of, Redfin Corp, Weichert Realtors, Compass Inc, “, Consumer Federation of America, Inc, MLS, Associated Locations: Missouri, U.S, of Missouri, New York

☆ Bad Real Estate Agents Are Costing Homebuyers Millions, Making Housing Market Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

But lately, he's been having trouble squaring that passion with a growing problem: a glut of underqualified real-estate agents. "The general public deserves so much better than what the majority of real-estate agents provide." A threat to the industryThe vast majority of real-estate agents are independent contractors who rely on commissions. But despite the ease with which home shoppers can now browse homes online, buyers and sellers still see themselves as dependent on real-estate agents. And if those people don't have the ability to become a real-estate agent or a Realtor, then they lose their access to representation."

Persons: Bret Weinstein, he's, Weinstein, they're incentivized, It's, appraisers, they're, they'd, Lawrence Yun, Stephen Brobeck, Brobeck, Inman, that's, There's, Jessica Reinhardt, Reinhardt, bristled, who's, Reinhard, James Rodriguez Organizations: Realtors, Consumer Federation of America, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Consumers, CFA, Denver Metro Association of Realtors Locations: Denver, Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania

☆ An epic fight over how real-estate agents get paid could transform the housing market forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Trying to find a buyer and sifting through offers sounds like a nightmare, so you hire a real-estate agent. The seller might no longer pay out both agents' commissions after the sale closes. Despite the potentially earthshaking consequences, most local real-estate agents — who, to be fair, have more pressing short-term concerns — have largely ignored the cases. "They not only have to pay a buyer's agent commission, but they can't negotiate that commission," Brobeck said of sellers. "It just doesn't make any sense for the seller to have to pay the buyer's agent," Brobeck told me.

Persons: —, Sitzer, that's, Max, Keller Williams, Sellers, Brokerages, Stephen Brobeck, Brobeck, Moehrl, Wager, Katie Johnson, you'll, Johnson, Buyers, Nicholas Economides, homebuyers, Trump, Everyone's, Rob Hahn, Steve Marcus, David Eisenstadt, Eisenstadt, Hahn, James Rodriguez Organizations: National Association of Realtors, NAR, Realtors, MLS, Consumer Federation of America, New York University, CFA, Realtor.com, REUTERS, Berkeley Research Group, Justice Department's Antitrust Locations: America, Missouri, Illinois, MLSs, Houston , Texas, Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom

☆ Billionaires and CEOs descended on Beverly Hills to talk recession, bank failures, and more. Here's the inside track.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On the agenda today:But first: The big takeaways from the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference Mike Blake/ReutersThe big-money set jetted into LA last week for the Milken Global Conference. Biggest opportunityCampbell: The pullback in lending by banks is raising the hopes of those in the private credit industry. Read more:'Junk fees'Getty ImagesIt goes by many names: an administrative fee, a transaction fee, even a "regulatory compliance" fee. Akash Nigam, the founder and CEO of Genies, who is spending $2,400 a month on ChatGPT accounts for all his employees.

☆ Real estate agents are tacking ludicrous 'junk fees' on to every home purchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The fee goes by many names: an administrative fee, a transaction fee, or even a "regulatory compliance" fee. Despite the controversy, all signs indicate that brokerages large and small have increasingly embraced the admin fee in recent years. The vast majority of real-estate agents are independent contractors who rely on commissions to earn a living. Admin fees may be one of the most polarizing topics among real-estate agents today. "I'm in a place in my business right now where I can justify paying that," the Las Vegas agent told me.

☆ An explosion of hidden 'junk fees' is making every home more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

☆ Home cheat home: How real-estate agents are ripping off homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

The other day, Linda, the real-estate agent whom my wife and I used to buy our home, called me out of the blue. Real-estate agents, like doctors, are the friendly, knowledgeable face of a bewildering, price-gouging system. If Americans paid the same rate as the British, they would save more than $72 billion a year in real-estate commissions. The potential for big money, in turn, has led more and more Americans to become real-estate agents. Every dollar that is paid out in a real-estate transaction — to sellers, agents, inspectors, insurers, and the IRS — comes from you, the buyer.

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