Real Estate commissions - Changes and what they mean for you

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) agreed to new rules around real estate commissions as part of a lawsuit settlement in March. As of August 17, they’re actually rolling out — and consumers face a deluge of confusion and conflicting predictions. One narrative predicts a coming utopia for homebuyers: A price war will erupt, and commissions will plunge amid a new wave of competition among buyers’ agents. A competing narrative goes in the opposite direction: Under the new commission structure, buyers will realize they’re on the hook for thousands and decide not to use agents at all. NAR, meanwhile, has portrayed the changes as minor tweaks rather than a major shift. The opposing narratives underscore just how complex Realtor compensation has always been — and how much more complex it just got. Here’s a look at the new commission structure and what it could mean for both homebuyers and sellers. Read entire article by bankrate.com When you list your property with List4FlatFee.com, you will only be paying a flat listing fee of $285 and you may offer ZERO compensation to the Buyer's agent, allowing the Buyer to write it in the contract (offer). As a seller and principal in the contract, you may counter the offer and change the compensation to fit your goals (zero or whatever amount you are willing to pay their buyer's agent). You have complete control over your bottom line in the real estate transaction. Email me at stacie@list4flatfee.com or visit my website List4FlatFee.com for more information on my limited service MLS Listing service.

DOJ to court: Buyers need to set their agents’ compensation

A statement of interest filed late Thursday by the Department of Justice savages the proposed MLS PIN settlement, and calls out MLSs for limiting competition. Story by Dave Gallagher, Director, News Reporting

Calling the proposed MLS PIN settlement one that only makes "cosmetic changes," the U.S. Department of Justice provided a harsh response that could have implications for the other national buyer agent class action lawsuits.

In its statement of interest, filed in the Nosalek case to the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts Thursday evening, Feb. 15, the DOJ provided some suggestions of what should be in the MLS PIN settlement with the plaintiffs, who are homeowners in the area. One proposal was an injunction "that would prohibit sellers from making commission offers to buyer brokers at all," which would completely change how commissions work. Read Dave's full report...

Flat Fee MLS Listing Service Explained

Market Recap - released by NWMLS

 Published on: February 5, 2024

Northwest MLS, the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its Market Snapshot for the month of January 2024.

Market Recap

Real estate market activity has remained slow in accordance with typical seasonal patterns. Interest rates held steady through the month of January to end at 6.69%; at the time of this publication, there was a slight decrease to 6.63%. For the Washington counties covered by the NWMLS, January 2024 saw a 3% increase in closed sales transactions year-over-year, an improvement from December 2023’s year-over-year change in closed sales transactions, which was a decrease of 11%. Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in January 2024 was $593,500, up 6.5% when compared to January 2023 ($557,250).

Important takeaways from January’s data:

• The median sales price increased year-over-year 19 out of 26 counties, with the highest median sale prices in King ($760,000), San Juan ($757,000) and Snohomish ($700,000). The three counties with the lowest median priced homes sold were Columbia ($235,000), Pacific ($250,900) and Grays Harbor ($305,000).
• The volume of homes on the market has continued to decline throughout Washington with 15 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year decrease. There were 7,084 active listings on the market at the end of January 2024, a decrease of nearly 14% compared to January 2023 (8,220).
• Despite the decrease in available inventory, 13 of the 26 counties in the report experienced an increase in the number of homes sold year-over-year.
• Condominium sales jumped nearly 21% year-over-year, with 492 units sold in January 2024. The median price of condominium sales increased 7% year-over-year from $424,000 in January 2023 to $453,750 in January 2024.

“Seller reluctance has led to a continued decline in year-over-year inventory levels, an overall 14% decrease of active listings on the market,” said Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at The University of Washington. “Encouragingly, year-over-year sales transactions saw a 3% improvement over January 2023. Low levels of for-sale inventory have led to increased competition amongst buyers, producing a nearly 7% year-over-year increase in median home prices across the Washington counties covered by the NWMLS.”

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Federal Reserve signals it’s not yet prepared to reduce rates

Central bank policymakers said that they aren’t yet ready to start cutting rates, according to their meeting statement.

“The Committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent,” the statement said.

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Federal Reserve keeps key interest rate unchanged and foresees 3 rate cuts next year

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday for a third straight time, and its officials signaled that they expect to make three quarter-point cuts to their benchmark rate next year.

The Fed’s message Wednesday strongly suggested that it is finished with rate hikes — after the fastest increases in four decades — and is edging closer to cutting rates as early as next summer.

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