In August, buyer brokerage for real estate underwent a change to make fees paid and collected by real estate brokerages more transparent to the public. Fees have always been negotiable, but consumers rarely questioned them, mainly because homeowners who profited from a sale paid buyer brokerage fees. Buyer's agents never had to talk about their value because, traditionally, sellers paid buyer's agent fees.

With this change, sellers can still offer to pay these fees, but buyers must pay if not. Before a buyer's agent shows a property, these fees must be disclosed in a signed buyer's agency agreement. All fees are negotiable and can be renegotiated by the agent and the buyer based on what a seller might be willing to offer as compensation. 

Previously, the listing agency offered compensation up front by disclosing the fee on the multiple listing system (MLS). As of August 17, 2024, compensation will no longer be offered on the MLS, but it can be offered by any other means.

With new technologies, buyers are finding houses on their own. Finding a home is almost the easiest part. Getting through a complicated transaction is where we prove our value. We deal with over 100 contingencies and leverage previous relationships with lenders, title companies, other agents, inspectors, and other vendors needed before and after the transaction to get to closing while confirming all contract conditions are met. We handle earnest monies, inspection reports, and scheduling to accommodate buyers, sellers, lenders, title agents, etc. Other duties of mine include navigating through the research, writing an offer, utilizing negotiating techniques based on 1000+ transactions, and using them to the advantage of the buyer.

As a 30-plus-year agent, I will never discriminate and will not show a property based on the offer of compensation. I have sold homes previously to many buyers who purchased a "For Sale by Owner" where they did not offer a fee. I sold the last one to a young couple with only enough funds for their down payment and closing costs. I showed them over 30 properties, wrote five outbid offers, made hundreds of calls to agents asking what it might take to get the house, researched comparables, and recommended the lender they used. I put in hundreds of hours and did not get compensated (actually, they gave me a Cameron Mitchell gift card). The point is I helped them the same way that I would have helped my million-dollar buyers, where I was paid 3% of the purchase price, and I will continue to do so in this new era of real estate.

The thinking behind the new law is that home prices will come down because seller expenses will be less. That is a false hope, as we know the market determines pricing. Also, it will always be in a seller's best interest to offer compensation to a buyer's agency as it will attract more buyers. Attracting more buyers will typically result in higher offers.

Change within our industry is always hard, but realtors are well-suited to adapt and prove our value. The public won't see much difference other than signing an agreement before being shown a home by a buyer's agent. The good news is I will continue to "prove my value" to buyers before working with me.