Just a few comments about the commentary in the March 29 edition with the headline, “Future of real estate starts now.” The first thing that struck me was the notion that the buyers’ agents, because the commission is based on a percentage of the sales price, would try to get the buyer they represent to pay a higher price. Buyers’ agents are not incentivized to drag out a transaction to get an extra $100. They are incentivized to get the transaction completed and get on to the next one.
I was also disturbed by all the platitudes regarding transparency, efficiency and fairness, while providing no information about what the actual changes will be as related to both the buyer and the seller. Presumably, the seller will pay a commission to the listing company, and the buyer will pay the commission to the company of the buyer’s agent. This means that the buyer would need enough cash to cover not only the down payment and closing costs, but also an additional $7,000 to $12,000 or more for the commission to the buyer’s agent’s company. It seems this would have a negative effect on the number of sales that could be completed. Or perhaps buyers will forgo the services of a buyer’s agent to save the expense? The practical effect of that scenario is that a high percentage of the transactions would fall through because of the myriad details involved in most transactions.
The commentary also indicates that the real estate industry has not kept up with technological advances, which likely is not true, but what does that have to do with the issues of the lawsuit and settlement?
Chuck Crossed, Realtor GRI retired
Lewes
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