房地产佣金即将发生变化2024年3月, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reached a landmark $418 million settlement after losing an antitrust lawsuit filed by a group of home sellers. As many as 50 million people who paid commissions on homes sold in recent years could receive a small amount from the class-action settlement. The powerful industry group also agreed to change long-standing practices related to sales commissions.1
Background
几十年来,, many real estate agents have had little choice but to join NAR and follow its rules regarding local Multiple Listing Services (MLS) — the databases used by most brokers to list information about properties for sale. Listing brokers typically cooperated with buyer’s agents and split the commission paid by the seller, with the amounts communicated via the MLS in fields that were only visible to agents.
Plaintiffs claimed that NAR (and brokers that require agents to be NAR members) conspired to artificially inflate commissions through an industry-wide practice requiring the seller to pay commissions to brokers on both sides of the transaction. They believed this helped to uphold a nationwide standard of five to six percent of the sales price, which is significantly higher than the commissions paid in many other countries.2
实践的变化
8月17日生效, 2024, NAR will implement the following new policies related to how real estate brokers are compensated to handle transactions.3
1. Commission offers for buyer’s agents can no longer be required or appear in the MLS, 尽管他们仍然是被允许的. Listing agents can advertise specific commission offers on brokerage websites and over the phone, 短信, 或电子邮件. 首页 sellers and their agents will negotiate directly with 买家 and their agents regarding compensation.
2. 在参观房屋之前, 买家 will have to discuss and set compensation directly with their own agents, 就像卖家和房源代理的关系一样. They will be asked to sign written representation agreements that outline the agents’ services (e.g., showing property, negotiating offers, transaction management) and how much they charge. This is to help ensure that 买家 are fully aware of the costs they could be responsible to pay.
对买家和卖家的影响
These changes are intended to allow more room for negotiation and spur competition, 这可能有助于降低卖家的成本. 佣金一直被计入交易价格, 所以在卖方成本下降的市场, 房价可能也会下降.
Some economists believe commissions could drop as much as 30% if buyer’s agents face pressure from potential clients to discount their fees, 但这种规模的储蓄并不能得到保证.4 The impact on real estate commissions will ultimately depend on market conditions, 这在不同的地区差别很大, 卖家如何, 买家, 代理人对新做法作出反应.
和其他行业一样, 经纪公司的管理费用包括租金, 责任保险, 市场营销, 以及其他运营成本. Most individual agents must split sales commissions with their brokers (from about 60/40 up to 80/20 for the most productive agents), 或者他们向公司支付费用.
A buyer’s agent sometimes shows property to clients over a period of days to months and may write numerous offers for deals that never come together. Many experienced buyer’s agents — long accustomed to receiving the same commission as the listing agent — may be reluctant to work for less, 即使他们必须更定期地证明自己的价值.
买方将为自己的代理人决定佣金, 但这些钱可能来自他们自己的口袋，也可能不是. 例如, it’s possible that an offer could be made contingent on the seller paying the buyer’s share of the commission or include a request for a general credit toward closing costs in the amount needed to pay the buyer’s agent. Current lending guidelines and regulations would prevent most 买家 from adding commission costs to their mortgages. 与VA贷款有关的规则, 哪些条款明确禁止借款人向中介支付佣金, 已被暂时搁置.5
在某些情况下, 卖家可能会同意支付买家的佣金, 因为这是长期以来的习惯，而且可能仍然符合他们的最佳利益. 自2019年以来，全国房价上涨了50%以上, 高利率使得抵押贷款的支付更加难以承受.6 This means sellers with equity tend to be in a better position to pay commissions than potential 买家, 他们中的许多人可能很难拿出足够的现金支付首付款. 出于这些原因, a seller who’s willing to pay all or some of the buyer’s commission may receive more offers, 最终价格也会更高, 比拒绝这么做的人.
First-time 买家 in particular — who were responsible for 31% of existing home sales in May 2024 — may have more confidence and make more informed decisions if they work with a trusted professional.7 但许多人将需要卖家的帮助来支付他们的代理费, putting them at a bigger disadvantage than ever against 买家 with more access to cash in competitive markets.
Negotiating commissions among all parties is likely to make it harder to strike deals in general, so 买家 may have to search longer and write more offers before they are successful. It’s also possible that sellers will see little change in commission costs in the coming months, 虽然市场在不断变化. 但假以时日, the new rules could spark innovation that creates new business models and expands lower-cost options.