New settlement brings big changes to real estate industry

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) —A new settlement with the National Association of Realtors is bringing more contracts and transparency to the table.

Trey McCallie, principal broker at Realty One Group Bluegrass breaks down what this means for realtors, sellers and buyers.

“When I come to list your house, we sign a listing agreement and talk about commissions,” McCallie said. “What commission my company is going to take, what commission the buyers agents’ company is going to take.”

In the past, it was always the seller’s responsibility to pay the buyer’s agent, but now things are different.

“It’s now required that we sign what’s called a buyer broker agreement,” McCallie said.

Which he says will provide more transparency to who and how someone is getting paid.

“Some sellers will still be able to offer a commission to the buyer’s agent or compensation to the buyer’s agent, but some sellers may choose not to,” he said.

Which means that commission could now come out of the buyer’s pocket, which some aren’t too happy about.

“The mainstream news was not real positive for us; we’ve tried to get some pr out there letting people know what value we add to the transaction,” he said.

Starting now if you’re looking to buy or sell a house, contracts, compensation and commissions will look different moving forward.