Real Estate Commission Changes Around the CornerIn March 2024, 全美房地产经纪人协会（NAR）在输掉一群房屋卖家提起的反垄断诉讼后，达成了一项具有里程碑意义的4.18亿美元和解协议. 多达5,000万为近年来出售的房屋支付佣金的人可能会从集体诉讼和解协议中获得一小笔钱. 这个强大的行业组织还同意改变与销售佣金相关的长期做法.1
Background
For decades, 许多房地产经纪人别无选择，只能加入全国房地产经纪人协会，并遵守其有关本地多重上市服务（MLS）的规定——大多数经纪人使用该数据库列出待售房产的信息. 上市经纪人通常与买方代理合作，并分摊卖方支付的佣金, 通过MLS传达的金额仅对代理商可见.
原告声称，NAR（以及要求代理人成为NAR会员的经纪人）合谋通过一种全行业的做法，要求卖方向交易双方的经纪人支付佣金，人为地抬高佣金. 他们认为，这有助于维持销售价格5%至6%的全国标准, 这比许多其他国家支付的佣金要高得多.2
Practice changes
Effective August 17, 2024, 全国房地产经纪人协会将实施以下与房地产经纪人处理交易的补偿有关的新政策.3
1. 佣金报价为买方的代理人可以不再要求或出现在MLS, though they are still permitted. 上市代理可以在经纪网站和电话上宣传具体的佣金优惠, text message, or email. 房屋卖家及其代理将直接与买家及其代理就赔偿问题进行协商.
2. Prior to touring homes, 买家将不得不直接与自己的代理商讨论并确定补偿, as sellers do with listing agents. 他们将被要求签署书面代理协议，概述代理的服务(例如.g.（展示房产、谈判报价、交易管理）以及收费多少. 这有助于确保买家充分意识到他们可能负责支付的费用.
Implications for buyers and sellers
这些变化旨在为谈判提供更多空间，并刺激竞争, which could conceivably help lower costs for sellers. Commissions have always been baked into transaction prices, so in markets where sellers’ costs fall, home prices would likely be reduced as well.
一些经济学家认为，如果买家代理面临潜在客户要求折扣的压力，佣金可能会下降30%, but savings of this magnitude aren’t guaranteed.4 对房地产佣金的影响最终将取决于市场情况, which can vary greatly by location, and how sellers, buyers, and agents respond to the new practices.
Like other businesses, brokerages have overhead that includes rent, liability insurance, marketing, and other operating costs. 大多数个体代理商必须与他们的经纪人分享销售佣金（从60/40到80/20的最多产的代理商）。, or they pay fees to the company.
买方代理有时会在几天到几个月的时间里向客户展示房产，并可能为从未达成的交易撰写大量报价. 许多经验丰富的买家代理——长期以来习惯于获得与上市代理相同的佣金——可能不愿以更低的价格工作, even if they must justify their value more regularly.
Buyers will determine the commission for their own agents, but the money may or may not come out of their own pockets. For example, 报价有可能以卖方支付买方的佣金份额为条件，或者包括要求支付买方代理所需金额的交割费用的一般信贷. 目前的贷款指导方针和法规将阻止大多数购房者在抵押贷款中增加佣金成本. A rule pertaining to VA loans, which specifically prohibited borrowers from paying agent commissions, has been temporarily suspended.5
In some cases, sellers might agree to cover buyers’ commissions, as it has long been customary and could still be in their best interests. Nationwide home prices have risen more than 50% since 2019, and high interest rates have made mortgage payments much less affordable.6 这意味着拥有股权的卖家往往比潜在买家更有能力支付佣金, many of whom may struggle to come up with enough cash for the down payment. For these reasons, 愿意支付全部或部分买方佣金的卖方可能会收到更多的报价, and a higher final price, than one who refuses to do so.
特别是首次购房者——2024年5月，他们占现房销售的31%——如果他们与值得信赖的专业人士合作，可能会更有信心，做出更明智的决定.7 But many will need help from sellers to pay their agents’ fees, 在竞争激烈的市场中，面对更容易获得现金的买家，它们比以往任何时候都处于更大的劣势.
各方之间的谈判佣金可能会使达成协议变得更加困难, 因此，买家可能需要花更长的时间搜索，写更多的报价才能成功. 卖家也有可能在未来几个月看到佣金成本几乎没有变化, while the market is in flux. But in time, 新规则可能会激发创新，创造新的商业模式，并扩大低成本的选择.