Coming soon listings, pending sales and multiple offers continue to increase.
New listings dropped a bit this week but rising coming soon listings should have future impact on new listings. Pending sales always follow new listings… they are rising nicely, staying ahead of last year at this time.
It will be interesting to see what impact our spring snow will have on showings…
I have been getting calls about the NAR settlement announced last week… read about what we know so far below…
About the NAR settlement
There has been much media coverage about the provisional settlement the National Association of Realtors (NAR) entered into last Friday, March 15, 2024, to end the seller commission class action lawsuits… some of it accurate, some of it not.
What we do know according to my understanding…
- NAR’s agreement prohibits all offers of buyer’s agent compensation in the MLS… the offer of compensation field will be removed from the MLS but it does not mean cooperating compensation is illegal or unpermitted, it just must be conveyed through another medium
- A written agreement with buyers is required so they’re aware of what their agents will charge for their services… buyer representation agreements are already in place in Minnesota, this would make it required by all Realtor associations throughout the country
- The headline “NAR Slashes Commissions” is inaccurate… commissions were and continue to be negotiable
- The settlement still has to be approved by the judge and and many details regarding the full impact of the settlement and new rules are unclear at this time
- New rules would go into effect in July 2024
There is still a great deal of uncertainty about how the settlement will play out, and could impact not only buyers and sellers but also trickle down to what the mortgage industry will allow.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
