HOUSTON — Why could there be some big changes coming to what you pay when you sell a house?
Buying and selling a house is a complicated and expensive process, but a recent court ruling could change how it works.
According to the New York Times, a federal jury found that the National Association of Realtors and several large brokerages had conspired to keep commissions for agents artificially high. Right now, when you sell your home, you have to agree to pay fees for both your real estate agent and the buyer’s. Those brokers typically split a commission that is five to six percent of the sale.
If the seller refuses, in most parts of the country, that means your house won’t show up on something called the multiple listing service. That database is used to populate popular home buying sites like Zillow and Redfin, according to the Washington Post. So essentially, if your home is kept off the MLS, it becomes nearly invisible to potential buyers. The defendants in this court case have vowed to appeal, but experts say this ruling could change how real estate agents are paid and how homes are sold.
So how could the system change? Paying the home buyer’s broker could become part of the negotiations for buying a house, or buyers could forgo using an agent at all. in other countries like the nited Kingdom, only a seller has an agent. The buyer uses a lawyer to help negotiate a contract, or agents could charge for a menu of services that shoppers could choose from. While we are not sure how it will change yet, experts are predicting the home buying process will soon be getting an overhaul.