The Sitzer Spin
Sep 19, 2024“Do the math. Add the positives. Subtract the negatives. Multiply your efforts.”
There are certainly all kinds of negative effects from the Sitzer-NAR settlement, some of them immediately apparent, and many more likely yet to come. I don’t suggest ignoring them, but I prefer at this early point to look for the possible benefits and focus there.
Buyer agency representation is a good thing. Like many forward trends, this one started in California, and even before the settlement 18 other states had already legislated agency. The real estate consumer should be able to pick a side and be represented.
Would most people go to court without a lawyer to speak for them?
Having adequate representation is so important that the court must provide one if you can’t afford it.
Having to explain the choices to a consumer before showings creates the opportunity to explain the buying process and affirm our value.
Having to sit down with buyers before showings will save agents from wasting time with those who are not serious about buying.
And it will eliminate the temptation to meet a stranger for the first time at a property.
Most of the agents I coach are reporting that it isn’t as difficult to get buyers to sign a working agreement as they had anticipated.
Those who aren’t able to present agency and compensation with skill and professionalism will likely find it impossible to make a living selling real estate, and that will weed out those who aren’t serious about the profession.
Following the new rules and regulations will guarantee that agents will get paid more often for the work they do with buyers.
Better and earlier communication between the buyer’s agent and the listing agent will result in greater transparency for the consumer, and clearer working relationships between agents.
There’s a lot not to like about the fallout from the settlement, and probably a lot of unintended consequences yet to surface. And change of this magnitude is always unsettling.
The industry has argued in its defense that commissions are, and have always been, negotiable. The biggest positive from the settlement so far is that now they are absolutely, positively, and transparently negotiable.
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