KANSAS CITY—HomeServices of America, one of the defendants in the Burnett commission trial, today filed a motion for summary judgment—a ruling in its favor without any further proceedings—just as the plaintiffs are about to rest their case, claiming that no evidence has been presented to show they conspired together on rules or commissions.
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Some buyers and sellers would probably agree their Realtor was underpaid or overpaid depending on the circumstances. During the pandemic it was easy to sell and a little harder to buy but rates were so low everyone was getting a deal regardless it seemed.
Now that the market is shifting and it’s becoming hard to sell because buyers are waiting and its becoming hard to buy because of affordability, I think the value a Realtor brings will become less contentious of an issue.
On the listing side:
When the average seller believes they could have easily sold their home without a Realtor because there were 5 buyers lined up all willing to waive the inspection and pay over asking, it makes sense to think the Realtor did not add a lot of value.
When it takes 100+ days to sell a home, there is 6+ months of inventory the value of a good Realtor becomes helping a seller attract a buyer vs making an easy process easier.
When it’s a tough market and the seller is anxious because they need to move ASAP, and they need to get top dollar, the value of a Realtor is much easier to appreciate assuming the Realtor is able to help the seller reach their goals.
On the buy side:
It’s more circumstantial. First buyers typically don’t pay their Realtor and most transactions are smooth so the value is in how the Realtor made them feel. If the deal was tough and there were legal and ethical challenges where the Realtor was able to help the buyer achieve success beyond what they would have been able to do on their own, its much easier for a buyer to appreciate what value a Realtor brings.
In reality it’s hard for anyone to articulate the value a Realtor brings and because it’s often circumstantial and most people think its easy or that the amount of money is too much. I understand why people don’t think Realtors are worth the money they are paid but that doesn’t mean it’s true or true in all cases.
I used paragraph breaks but the formatting removed them…