NAR Settlement

It’s been 18 months since the NAR ruling. Here is my current take on its impact: It will end up being great for our industry once it becomes more established and widely understood by buyers and sellers.

However, I am still finding that many buyers are unfamiliar with the rule change which is a source of tension. In the past, buyers were accustomed to requesting to view a home with a broker without signing a representation agreement, which is now a violation of NAR rules.

When engaging certain professionals, like lawyers, it’s customary to sign an representation agreement before the work begins. But for real estate brokerage, this change seems to have created confusion and introduced friction in what used to be an otherwise frictionless process: contact a broker, request a tour, and if you like the home and like the agent, proceed to writing an offer.

Once the rule is more widely known and buyers anticipate being proactive in engaging a broker, I think it will allow brokers that offer superior service to be more fairly compensated. It will also lead to buyers have more autonomy and and control about picking the right broker for them, both of which are good things.