North Texas — The cheers and confetti that accompanied the $418 million settlement between home sellers and the National Association of Realtors have many in Texas wondering about its impact.
Praising the removal of the standard 5-6% fee has sparked reflection. Metrotex president Ashley Gentry said members are concerned but will be paid for their work.
“Since we started, there’s been upheaval, change and disruption in the industry,” Gentry said.
The mother and businesswoman began working for her mother at the age of 15. The real estate business is a family business run by Sheri Feulerbacher, her stepfather a financier and her husband a real estate agent, with her daughter helping out.
Some Gentry members are simply afraid of change, she said.
One of the most significant changes in the proposed settlement is visible compensation for multiple listing services, known as MLSs.
“As things stand, we’re receiving unsolicited offers of compensation across multiple listing services,” Gentry said.
The MLS is a real estate tool. It helps in the home buying and selling process. This technology levels the playing field between large and small brokerages. Removal of the fee field is being considered.
“This is something that the listing broker and the seller agreed to as part of the offering agreement,” Gentry said. “They listed in there the amount that the listing broker was willing to provide or distribute as compensation to the cooperating broker.”
Gentry said a one-sided compensation offer could move forward if the settlement is approved. He noted that some payment boxes allow for the entry of $1 or even zero.
“I want to emphasize that our fees have never been fixed,” Jamuna Till said. “They are always negotiable.”
Till is president of the Collin County Area Association of Realtors, which in conjunction with the North Texas Association of Realtors will be hosting a free Homeownership Fair in April to answer questions about buying or selling a home.
Till said the settlement sounds more dramatic than it actually is. She said everyone will continue to do business through negotiations and signed contracts.
The housing market remains strong and competitive, according to a study by the Texas Real Estate Research Center, and the settlement could lead to home prices rising rather than falling due to supply and demand.
Till speculated that one impact of the settlement may be to shift the responsibility onto consumers.
“Buyers may also have to pay compensation to agents, which could impact the affordability of housing,” she said.
