The NAR settlement could slash home prices for many Americans
CNN
The entire US housing market is about to get remodeled and the end product could come with a big perk: cheaper home prices.
The entire US housing market is about to get remodeled, and the end product could come with a big perk: cheaper home prices. That’s due to a $418 million settlement the National Association of Realtors announced Friday with groups of homesellers. The settlement, which is still subject to a judge’s approval, will eliminate the long-standing standard 6% commission paid by the seller. Those fees, however, are often baked into the listed price of the home. Lower commissions could therefore lower home prices, experts say. And at a time when elevated housing costs are driving inflation across the country, reining in home prices could help bring price increases back to levels Americans experienced before the pandemic. But none of that will happen overnight. For starters, a judge still needs to sign off on the settlement, which also would put in place a slew of new rules. Among those, buyers’ agents showing homes that were listed on local centralized listing portals, known as multiple listing services, won’t have prior knowledge of the commissions they’ll receive if their clients end up purchasing it.
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