First Thomasville GA Custom Green Smart Home Builders Building Above Minimum Code: Is It the End of 6% Real Estate Commissions?

Monday, May 14, 2012

Is It the End of 6% Real Estate Commissions?

This week the Justice Department reached an antitrust settlement with the National Association of Realtors that is meant to spur competition and bring down the standard 6% commission that comes with each real estate transaction. Basically, the NAR is no longer able to withhold the information on multiple listing services from discount online brokers such as Redfin and ZipRealty. Will consumers like us see a huge deduction in real estate transaction prices soon?

Before I make any predictions, I would like to say that I have always found it odd for a buyer's agent to take commissions on the sale of a house. The reason is that technically a buyer's agent is supposed to negotiate for the best price for the client, but the dangling carrot of the commission probably tempts some of them to hype up the property price as high as possible. Instead of taking a percentage on a sale, I think buyer's agents should just charge for the time they spend showing homes to a client and perhaps get a bonus on the amount they save the client by negotiating for a price below asking. That way, they will be actually paid for their work, and they will have no stake in hyping up prices. For agents with picky clients, it is possible that charging by the hour is more lucrative than charging 3% on a sale.

I think this settlement will definitely promote competition and bring down commissions as more people start to use the internet to search for real estate. It is good for sellers because their listings will get more exposure on many different sites rather than a closed multiple listing service. It is also great for buyers because information will be more freely available and they no longer have to depend on realtors to find real estate of their choice. On the side of the agents, I think excellent selling agents could still make great commissions because discount online realtors have limited services that may not be advantageous to a seller in our current tough market conditions. However, I think buyer's agents really need to cut down their commissions or change their billing model to compete with discount realtors that refund up to 2/3rds of the commission because many more people will be picking out homes online in the near future.

Ultimately, this settlement shows us that knowledge is power, and the internet is a great place to obtain knowledge. The real estate industry can no longer take 6% commissions for granted, but as long as the agents are able to adapt to the situation and keep their customers happy I think they will still thrive in our turbulent economy.

I do not see how a high school diploma or a high school dropout can get paid more then a real estate attorney. So yes I think some of these uneducated realtors should not make 6% commission just for taking a real estate exam more then once. And do not get me started on dual agency they really do not deserve the full 6% commission.

Think you’re safe from problems when you buy a new home? Think again

Now imagine. New Homes being built in Thomasville, GA. by an unlicensed person and that person also claiming to be a builder with no building experience, project managerment or construction experience working under someone else’s license. Building of these homes continuous. Buyers beware. Cheap Homes = Cheap Homes.

6/19/12 - News Flash:::: After less then one year of ownership, the owner of one of these homes is SELLING. I wonder why? I am not surprised. I saw that cheap box being built.

Realtors with their own agenda:

When you go shopping for a car, you do not only go to one dealer, so why would you stick with only one Realtor or real estate brokerage? in Thomasville, GA. we have our share of used car realtors. who are only interested in selling you their own listings or their own brokerage listings, and why "Full Commission" so this is why you need to invest more time and try using deferent realtors and brokerage to show you houses and you will see that all realtors are not the same. most of them are just interested in their own "Agenda".

Resale Value of Spec Homes in Thomasville, GA.

Caution: Some Real estate professionals and Real State Brokers like to use the word total square footage when listing a home. The word (Total Square Footage) is used when the listed properties square footage under heated & cooled is to small for the listed price. The total square footage of heated, cooled, garage, porches and decks are sometimes used to justify the price per square footage of that property. So you need to ask for the total heated & cooled square footage and divide by total price = price per sq. ft. The City and County Requires any addition or unfinished bonus rooms done after the home was built to have a permit. Example of misrepresented property by an agent in Thomasville, GA. Listed at 3,800 Sq. Ft. but public records has it for 3,200 Sq. Ft. Definetly something wrong with this picture.

WHO BUILT THE HOME YOU ARE LOOKING TO BUY

Will your next home be built and sold to you by a realtor? Look for a professional Builder. A professional builder is the only one that is dedicated to what they do and are on site from start to finish. A real estate agent or property appraiser is only interested in selling you that home he is not on the job site from start to finish because he is trying to sell homes. What type of quality construction do you think went into that home? And what homes do you think you are going to see first? Always ask who built the home and who are you buying the home from. You will be surprised to find out who built that home you are looking to buy! You would have to wonder who would warranty that new home.

A few realtors in town are building low end homes and having some of their associates ADVOCATE potential buyers to those listings.

Remember:

To put this in perspective is like going to a FOOT DOCTOR to perform HEART SURGERY