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☆ A homebuyer's guide to the real-estate revolution
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Real-estate agents' commissions have fluctuated between 5% and 6% of the sale price for decades, despite advances in technology and an influx of agents. The recent lawsuits, which accused the NAR and some of the country's largest brokerages of conspiring to keep agents' commissions unfairly high, could signal the start of a new era. If sellers aren't paying out commissions to buyers' agents, buyers themselves could end up on the hook. For example, what happens if the seller isn't willing to pay the buyer's agent's commission? In most states, the buyer's agent can technically just rebate that extra money to their client.

Persons: Austin Whitt, Whitt, —, I've, Steve Brobeck, Sabrina Brown, they've, Michael Warren, Sellers, Prentiss Cox, it'll, you've, doesn't, Jack Ryan, Ryan, homebuying, Rob Hahn, Wendy Gilch, Gilch, I'm, it's, David Dworkin, Dworkin, Cox, It's Organizations: Realtors, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Consumer Federation of America, Getty, University of Minnesota, MLS, Consumer Federation of, National Housing Conference, Justice Department Locations: Tennessee, Nashville, America, North Carolina, United Kingdom, Australia

☆ 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

☆ The race to create the 'Amazon of real estate' could change home buying forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

But after years of trying, the basic structure of buying and selling a home remains pretty much the same. Even if you accept a bit of intricacy, real estate remains a stodgy industry — and regulation is at the core of that resistance to change. Despite the best efforts of would-be disruptors to cut out this middleman, 88% of buyers this year enlisted a real-estate agent, a Zillow survey found. Short of a tech-enabled homebuying nirvana, there are some other changes that could make the process easier for consumers. Saul Klein, an early internet evangelist in the real-estate industry, told me he sees an approaching "paradigm shift."

Persons: that's, you'll, they're, it's, Mike DelPrete, Rob Hahn, DelPrete, aren't, they'd, pocketing, —, ClosingCorp, we're, John Berkowitz, hasn't, Berkowitz, They're, Bobby Bryant, Bryant, Rich Barton, Wendy Gilch, Gilch, Saul Klein, Klein, James Rodriguez Organizations: Companies, University of Colorado Boulder, National Association of Realtors, Ojo, Group Inc, Universal Locations: Washington, California, Georgia

☆ 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

☆ Millennials are building up a mountain of debt in pursuit of the middle-class American dream — and they're starting to miss credit card payments at an alarming rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This debt load is beginning to takes it toll — the NY Fed's report found that millennials are missing credit card and auto loan payments at rising rates. Millennials are starting to miss credit card paymentsAfter falling over the last few years as borrowers paid down their balances, US credit card debt rose $61 billion in the fourth quarter, the largest increase in the history of the NY Fed's data, which dates back to 1999. This increase brought total credit card balances to $986 billion, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of $927 billion. Inflation has caused many millennial consumers to spend more, save less, and ultimately turn to credit card debt as pandemic-era savings have run out. While there are surely several factors fueling credit card debt among millennials, the high cost of childcare and related expenses surely aren't helping.

☆ First-time homebuyers are 'royally screwed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

For first-time homebuyers like Talej, the outlook has never been bleaker. And during that year, first-time buyers accounted for just 26% of all home purchases, the lowest percentage ever, according to the NAR. The racial makeup of first-time homebuyers also set records in 2022, but the lack of progress in Black homeownership was perhaps most shocking. The percentage of first-time homebuyers who were white hit a two-decade high of 88% last year, up from 83% in 2003. Hope is a fickle thingThere's some slight relief on the horizon for first-time homebuyers.

☆ Bad news for millennials: Things have never looked bleaker for first-time homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

For first-time homebuyers like Talej, the outlook has never been bleaker. This unfortunate combination means first-time buyers are waiting longer to purchase homes and winning out with less frequency than ever before. And during that year, first-time buyers accounted for just 26% of all home purchases, the lowest percentage ever, according to the NAR. The percentage of first-time homebuyers who were white hit a two-decade high of 88% last year, up from 83% in 2003. These trends only compound the bad economic news for millennials, who make up the majority of today's first-time buyers.

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