Jury Finds Realtors Conspired, Awards Nearly $1.8B in Damages

Post by bentt » Wed, Nov 01, 2023, 2:31 PM UTC

Willish42 wrote: post #170

_ea1k wrote: post #106

The problem isn't just realtors, it is that the whole system is designed to maximize transaction costs. Who cares how much the attorney and loan paperwork cost when they are only 1-2%, you are already paying 5-6% to realtors, ~.5-1% in repair costs, and often a part of the buyer's closing costs too? But if you think about that wholistically, that means sellers are paying 8-10% of the cost of a house every time they s…

Dumb, uninformed question here, but are there not some sort of For Sale By Owner systems that cut into the huge percents in closing costs? Or is the issue that you have to pay the buyers' realtor fees too and that's unavoidable? I'm trying to figure out why nobody's figured out "DIY MLS listing as a service without having to pay for a realtor". Maybe everyone who does this just gets a realtor's license or something.

Post by matt-attack » Wed, Nov 01, 2023, 3:29 PM UTC

tssva wrote: post #212

judge2020 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> no agent deserves a 6% commission for simply getting something listed on zillow or MLS Typically 3% is seller agent commission and 3% is buyer agent commission - although in the paperwork it's most likely 6% to the seller's agent and the seller's agent offers 3% to the buyer's agent. Although 5% total / 2.5% to each realtor is becoming a bit more popular as of recent, based on the listing I browse.

I don't understand why people don't negotiate more on this. I paid 3.5% total commission (1.5% listing and 2% buyer agent) on the last 2 homes I sold. One in 2012 and one earlier this year. In both cases the homes sold quickly and above asking.

Post by weeblewobble » Wed, Nov 01, 2023, 3:56 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #261

weeblewobble wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe there was something else unattractive about your offer and the 2.8 fell through? Happens all the time. When I sold a house recently I took the second highest offer, because the highest offer came from someone out of state who had never set foot in the house

I don't understand, why was that a motivation for not taking the highest offer? Is that associated with some kind of risk of the sale not closing, or other risk? (Sorry if it's a dumb question with an obvious answer -- this is not my area of expertise.)

Post by matt-attack » Wed, Nov 01, 2023, 4:02 PM UTC

Xeoncross wrote: post #137

Real Estate in the US is like a bunch of little MLS fiefdoms still angry you have access to the internet. Eventually the Real Estate market will adopt like the music industry and others had to. Welcome to the 21st century. Brokers and agents are mostly sales people that drive around showing places. Its the lawyers, inspectors, insurance underwriters, loan originators, and title companies that do the real and/or legal…

Post by tssva » Wed, Nov 01, 2023, 6:13 PM UTC

matt-attack wrote: post #264

tssva wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why people don't negotiate more on this. I paid 3.5% total commission (1.5% listing and 2% buyer agent) on the last 2 homes I sold. One in 2012 and one earlier this year. In both cases the homes sold quickly and above asking.

My understanding is that in some markets if you try to negotiate anything less that 6% you're just blacklisted. They lock arms and no one will accept it.