The National Association of Realtors last week reached a settlement agreement in a national lawsuit. A federal court in Missouri still needs to approve the settlement, but NAR has agreed — among other items — to remove buyer’s agent commission rates from the Multiple Listing Service (or MLS), the property listing system realtors use. So what does all this mean to you?
 
Basically, Buyers must sign an agreement with their agent where compensation is addressed, prior to viewing property. The commission paid to Realtors was traditionally paid by the Seller through the listing broker. This has always been negotiable but generally fell in the 6% range and then split between the Listing Agent and the Buyer Agent. 
 
Now each party will need to address compensation independently. The Seller is still permitted to offer concessions to assist the Buyer in paying fees but it can no longer be posted in the MLS. The fee can be negotiated into the contract.
 
How Soon? Assuming everything is settled, it looks like the new changes will go into affect in July of 2024. Still much to be determined and nothing has been finalized at this time. As information is available I'll be sure to let you know. If you have any questions please let me know.