CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's been decades since Americans have had to face changes in the way they buy and sell property, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The first change deals with the seller and real estate professional, Kevin Sears, president of the National Association of Realtors, told WCNC Charlotte's Jane Monreal.
"We will no longer be able to make a unilateral offer of compensation on the multiple listing service, the MLS," Sears said.
Sears said that means the seller is still in control.
Regarding the seller's agent or realtor, Sears explained, "They are allowed to offer cooperating compensation to the buyer rep, and so now what we need to do, is just navigate through those changes and figure out how we will be able to communicate any offers of compensation that will be made."
Home buyers will be most impacted by the second change, he said.
"For the buying consumer, the biggest change is that they will be needing to enter into a written agreement with their real estate professional, with their agent, their broker, their realtor," Sears said. "And this agreement will need to clearly articulate the services that will be provided by the professional and the fee that they will be looking to get paid."
If the seller is not offering cooperating compensation, the buyer would then have to pay out of pocket for professional services provided.
"What we had done, up until this point, is the listing broker would get paid a commission from the seller upon a closed transaction, and then would split that commission with the buyer's broker," Sears said. "And so now, since it's going to be off the MLS, it's just going to be a little different, and we might see the selling consumer paying directly the buyer's broker, but it's all going to be predicated on what happens in the local market and how the consumers and the real estate professionals want that to look."
The good news for buyers in the Charlotte area, according to local realtor David Hoffman, of David Hoffman Realty, is it's about to be a buyer's market.
"They kind of held off until late spring, because rates are so high," Hoffman said.
But with the economy slowing and inflation coming back down, the rate is starting to drop, which has gotten buyers off the fence, he said.
"So, you've got supply picking up and rates starting to drop," he added.
He said the supply of homes on the market increasing every month, is going to push down demand.
"So for buyers, if a buyer can wait, because they need the lower rate, then maybe they should a few more months, maybe even the next year," Hoffman said. "But if they find the right home for their family, and they can afford it, prices have already fallen," adding, "I expect this fall or winter, for supply to go up, will push down demand and you'll see better and better deals."
As for sellers, Sears said they are more likely to act quicker following the stock market's recent drop.
Hoffman explained, "If it's all ready to sell then you do now for many reasons. One, prices are going to fall. So, they should sell now before comes down more. But secondly, they need to sell now, so they can get the next home. And they don't get stuck waiting."
When it comes to the upcoming changes in the real estate industry, the Charlotte realtor said buyers and sellers won't immediately see much of a difference in the fees they pay, although the process might sound different.
"That is more impactful in a strong market than a weak one. And you're going to have some sellers that are wondering if they have to pay commission on both sides and they don't have to," Hoffman said. "And so most sellers are still seemingly wanting to work with buyer's agents. But there is going to be occasional buyers, they're going to have to pay the commission or build it into the price."
The good news is, it's always been built into the price historically, Hoffman said.
"And so if this was a really hot market, like two, three years ago, I could see a lot more sellers saying, 'I don't want to work with a buyer's agent', and the buyer would either have to pay the commission sales, or the listing agent would do both sides and dual agency," he said, adding, "But as the market slows, I see the traditional models coming out where both sides are represented."
To learn more about the new changes from the National Association of Realtors, click here.
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.