It is a quiet Friday morning so I thought that I would debunk some of the myths and rumors about the NAR Settlement. By now, most of you know these facts. Just in case you missed some claims by the not-knowing writers in national publications I present these myths. I am not an attorney but I am a Long-Time Real Estate Agent (63 years) and I have learned where to find good reliable information. And I want to add that it has been a sincere pleasure to teach Real Estate Classes to many of you.
THE 6% COMMISSION IS DEAD: The Settlement does not discuss in any manner commission percentages. It states that “commission percentages” cannot be listed in any Multiple Listing Service publications.
SELLERS DO NOT HAVE TO PAY BUYER AGENT COMMISSIONS: This is not a change. This has been a right or option forever. Sellers paid Buyer Agent commissions so their house would get exposure and sell.
PAST HOME SELLERS WILL RECEIVE TONS OF MONEY. The Settlement amount was so large because it covered the sales for the last four years. According to Housing Wire each claimant will receive around $10.00. The famous award winning columnist Jeff Collins for the Orange County Register stated that it would be around $13.00. If you can’t believe Jeff Collins, you can’t believe anyone.
THE ATTORNEYS IN THIS CASE WORKED PRO BONO: The attorneys lead by the now famous Michael Ketchmark will share $80 Million Dollars. As my mother would say, “That is a pretty penny or that is a chunk of change”.
THE POLITICIANS IN SACTO AND DC CAUSED THIS, ETC: This was a court decision from the Show Me state of Missouri. And the jury deliberated only three hours before ruling against our beloved NAR and some of our beloved companies.
NAR IS GOING TO APPEAL: After the verdict NAR announced they would appeal to the bitter end. BUT, the verdict was for $1.8B plus. AND, this case involved antitrust issues so it could be tripled to over $5.B. And as Tip used to say, “When you get around $4B to $5B, you are talking about real money.” So NAR settled.
ALL MLS ORGANIZATIONS ARE HISTORY: At the moment the only change is that commissions cannot be stated on the MLS sites. There are other MLS emerging and some companies are going to leave MLS, but we shall see, what we shall see.
NAR IS GOING BANKRUPT: This penalty will be paid over four years. And I heard a rumor that NAR has over a Billion Dollars in assets as of today.
NAR ADMITTED WRONGDOING AND BEGGED FORGIVENESS: They admitted nothing. Settling was in the best interest of you and I, according to NAR leadership.
THE NEW RULES COVERS ALL REAL ESTATE: It covers residential, one to four, owner occupied.
PRICES WILL DROP ON HOMES: These people have better crystal balls than I do. Prices are determined by other factors than a drop in commissions.
BUYER’S AGENT CONTRACTS WILL NOT WORK: Buyer’s agents contracts have been used for decades, and I have not seen a plethora of lawsuits. NAR recognizes their importance and instituted a new designation some years ago called ABR. Accredited Buyer’s Representative. If all Realtors had used the forms recommended, we may not be discussing what we are discussing today.
AB 2992: This is a recently introduced bill that will make BAAs mandatory in California Real Estate.
BTW: I wrote an article about the status of the Settlement at this time, and you can read it on my blog at https://www.duanegomer.info/nar/some-facts-about-the-nar-settlement/. For those who think that being a Buyer’s Agent is a new concept. you can read an article of mine that was written in 1983. I found it last week and posted it without having to change one word. That is also on my blog.
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See you around campus. And remember that my day job is selling DRE and MLO education courses, so give us a call.
Duane Gomer: Approved by the State Government and the Federal Government to present courses. DJ and I thank you who have supported us.
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