Buying Or Selling A Home This Spring Or Summer? Read This!

Buying Homes In Kentwood, Selling Homes In Kentwood

Buying Or Selling A Home This Spring Or Summer? Read This!

Published by

Tracy Thrower Conyers

on

April 13, 2024

Commission Lawsuits & What They Mean

I’m sure by now you’ve seen a story someplace about last week’s reported settlement between the National Association of Realtors and various class action lawsuits claiming industry collusion over commissions.

My Insider Perspective

Fun fact about me! In my first career, I was a consumer fraud class action attorney and worked on big class action cases against huge companies defrauding consumers like the attorneys who brought the commission lawsuits.

So you could say that I’ve been watching these lawsuits with a lot of interest. You could also say that I’ve been watching my adopted real estate industry very closely in the 20+ years I’ve been involved. I have a few opinions about bad practices in the industry for sure. I definitely have opinions about these recent real estate lawsuits and I’ll be sharing those opinions in other videos soon if you’re interested. The spoiler alert is that I think this settlement sucks for consumers, buyer and sellers. Costs are not going down as suggested by the mainstream media. They are just going into a black hole, which is the opposite of what the cases profess to want.

What The Settlement Means For Kentwood Home Buyers & Sellers Right Now

Diving into all the problems I see with the settlement is a big conversation for another day. For now, I wanted to pop in and just let you know what to expect in the immediate future in light of these new developments if you are selling or buying a home soon in the Kentwood neighborhood of Westchester 90045.

First, the settlement hasn’t been approved even though some major news outlets skipped right over that fact in their coverage. There is always a significant chance some third party, like the government, could intervene and something could change, so just know that nothing is concrete yet.

Second, as a home buyer, you will now need to sign formal agreements with your buyer representative and that agent will require you to agree to pay for the agent’s services. The amount will be negotiable, but I expect good agents to continue to command 2.5% of the purchase price.

Will you, as a buyer, have to come out of pocket for the fees? This remains to be seen. Sellers can still offer a price concession to cover buyer agent fees, but the whole process is poised to fall into a deep dark hole if the settlement is approved.

I personally will be advising my sellers to offer buyer agent fee concessions, although it is always their option to ignore my advice. Why would a seller want to continue to pay the buyer agent fees? There are many reasons having a buyer agent in the mix is good for sellers and getting sales done and staying done.

But you also have to know that there is going to be a lot of confusion by sellers, and there will be agents who will sell greed to get a listing. The whole landscape is going to be chaotic for awhile, and it will be extra important to have good representation. And good representation is not cheap at the outset, but usually results in an outcome that doesn’t come back to bite you later in litigation.

Is This Development An Opportunity For You?

I know this will sound scary to some, but it can also represent an opportunity for others who are thinking about buying or selling a home right now in Los Angeles. Anytime people are confused and scared on the sidelines is an opportunity for bold home buyers and home sellers.

Should you represent yourself to save the buyer agent fees?

Only if you buy and sell frequently and know how to price an offer, size up the listing agent, negotiate a multiple offer scenario, schedule your own inspections (usually on a short timeline), wrangle your lender into funding on time, negotiating repairs based on inspections, and analyze and sign a whole stack of legally binding paperwork. If all of that is in your wheelhouse, go for it.

Should you let the listing agent represent you as a buyer? Imagine one lawyer in court trying to represent both tables. One person can rarely represent the highest and best needs of two different parties.

Recap For Home Buyers & Home Sellers In Los Angeles

So, to recap, changes are afoot, but not yet set in stone. The current timeline being floated is July, but a lot has to happen first. In the interim, it’s business as usual.

With recent rate drops, now might be the best time to pick up your new property and get your deal locked up before things get chaotic.

By Tracy Thrower Conyers, Your Neighbor In Kentwood
Tracy is a realtor specializing in LA’s Beach Cities, with a hyper-emphasis on Westchester & more specifically, Kentwood. She is a past practicing attorney & real estate tech founder. Tracy is an outspoken housing policy and lifestyle advocate in our community and 22+ year real estate industry vet. She’s been quoted on topics of Silicon Beach real estate by trusted media outlets including the Los Angeles Times, KCET and The Argonaut. Tracy & her family have called Kentwood home for over 20 years. Tracy & her husband Doug are empty nesters living with their two cats and pup, Luna.