"07:51 US plans antitrust suit over real-estate listings - WSJ According to the WSJ, in a widening push to promote price competition in sales of residential real estate, govt antitrust enforcers are preparing to sue the National Association of Realtors, alleging that its policies will illegally restrict discounting of sales commissions and put online competitors at a disadvantage. The move, the latest effort by the DoJ and the FTC aimed at protecting buyers and sellers of homes, could help take some of the sting from high real-estate costs. It comes as a hot housing mkt has caused prices to surge, sharply boosting income for brokers and sales agents, whose commissions typically amount to 5% to 6% of the sale price." nitro
Good, most residential realtors are scumbags. All they care about is making their commission and then finding a way to get another one. Customer service is terrible with these people!!!
Notice to whoever is suing the Association. 1. First order of the day. Require people south of the Mason Dixon line to pronounce it the right way. REAL TORS not relators. Everytime I hear southerners pronounce relators I go nucular!!
The reality : 6% of sales price ... usually split between listing agent and selling agent, 3% / 3% 3% to agent, then split between agent and his broker, 1.5% / 1.5% 1.5% of sales price, (30% of that goes to taxes) = not alot
Few if any pays 6% anymore: 5% is the norm. Also, what the realtor gets to keep is based on his/her volume based on the nearest quarters sales numbers. So the worse you do in sales in recent history, the less of the split from your broker that you get. These people also rarely have Sundays for their own: they are doing open house(s). Nor do they often have weekday evenings to themselves, since that is when clients have the time to go and see properties after work. nitro
This suit is the biggest pile of bull I've heard in a while. The government really does have more pressing matters than trying to bankrupt traditional realtors. Good realtors work hard for their commission and deserve every cent. If you want to save money, sell yourself. God I hate government sometimes.
I see your point here Ron. This is something Ive thought about alot. Taxes area constant for everyone so this really shouldnt be included.(IMO) However for Harry Homeowner there is no doubt its a straight 5% off the sale price. Which seems like alot. My mother sold one of her apartment buildings in Kansas City and swears the agent made her an extra 80k. My mom had underestimated the value of the property. So in this case the broker really paid off. When I bought my home last year I felt as if I had done all the leg work and after showing us 5 or 6 houses that I found on my own the agent walked away with a nice sum. I realize I didnt actually pay the money. However it got me thinking about my agent giving me a kickback, or something for the small amount of work she did. At least give me 500 bucks back rather than a 10$ starbucks card. Now I know this might sound a little greedy. I AM! I am thinking of selling this house next year once the two years are up so I can avoid the capitol gains. (hope there is some capitol gains!) I am already struggling with the possibility of giving away 5% of my money. Again with the greed thing.... lol. I also think the commish is negotiable in alot of cases. Not saying your right or wrong here just saying that there is alot to consider. Finally, I dont think the NRA should keep the listings off the net and all to themselves. How greedy! LOL. Jim
Not a lot? Depends on the location ... I just sold a house on a barrier island in SE US. Oceanfront houses were selling as high as $8 million. 1.5% (for the selling agent) and the same for a listing agent is $120,000 EACH. Add in $120, 000 for each brokers company. That's $480,000. Granted, that's at the high end. But houses where I moved from sold for about $500-600K average. So that's $30+K split 4 ways, or $7500-9000. Not bad in continuing hot real estate market. Sell a house a month and you're over $100K. Also, 7% is the norm at that locale, so I'm being generous calculating the numbers at 6%. Try to get 5% listing and you'll get few realtors even willing to talk to you. And those that do, are the struggling realtors who just want to make a few $$$ to keep their head above water. Bottom line is that realtors have reaped big bucks in recent times due to the explosion in prices. Further, with web listings, virtual tours and the like they can sell houses without even seeing people. I know someone who just told a $4.6 oceanfront house to a buyer ... sight unseen. Sure, some of them work hard ... but their incomes have increased a lot faster than most anyone else (excepting athletes).
I consider myself a libertarian, but in a case of price fixing such as this, there does need to be an agency to force free-market competition for the good of the consumer. Let capitalism do it's thing.
That's a awfully big generalization. There are also very professional agents who work their asses off for scumbag homeowners who jerk them around 24/7. If you have a beef with an agent's commission, then interview someone who is worth it, because they are out there. They will bring a lot to the table, not to mention the legal protection that dealing with an agent provides for a home seller.