Byron Lazine and Nicole White are two agents in Connecticut who give us their thoughts on the week’s news every Friday in “The Real Word,” a weekly video column on Inman.
Real estate agents, brokers and anyone else in the industry might’ve been surprised and intrigued by this news. A judge denied motions by NAR (and the top brokerages that are involved) to “dismiss a lawsuit that takes aim at the practice of homesellers paying the buyer’s broker commission,” according to an Inman article published Oct. 5.
The lawsuit was started by a seller back in 2019, who argued that the listing contract he signed was cornering him into paying for the buyer’s broker commission without his knowledge. The judge agreed that this lawsuit should move forward, arguing that the plaintiffs would’ve have paid “substantially lower commissions” if it weren’t for the buyer-broker commission rule.
NAR and brokerages involved stand firm in their position, saying that the case is without merit. The article garnered a barrage of comments, and Byron and Nicole shared their thoughts as well — all while providing a brief background of the lawsuit and its possible implications.
“I can tell you right now, if this were to happen where buyers have to pay their buyer agent directly and the sellers pay their listing agent directly, 99 percent of buyer agents would not exist,” Byron said.
More this week: Byron and Nicole chat through an article published on Inman on helping out-of-state buyers. The story covers strategies and steps for working with buyers from thousands of miles away in a way that ensures a smooth process for everyone involved.
Marketeer of the week
The newest trend in luxury real estate is disinfection rooms. According to NAR, these rooms contain “hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations, and some owners are also adding machines that cover your shoes with temporary shoe covers, along with gowns to wear over your clothes.” Are they here to stay?
Want to nominate a “marketeer of the week”? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below, or shoot us an email.
