"In reality, this is all much ado about nothing. Commission rates have never been set. They've always been negotiable," said Maggie Gold Seelig, founder of the luxury boutique firm MGS Group Real Estate. "Agents, buyers, and sellers have a choice of what rates they are willing to pay or work for. It's like a doctor; you get a choice of who you want to work with and at what rates."
"There's always been transparency in any of this," she added. "I can't think of a seller I sat down with who didn't want to discuss how fees work."
The new practice calls for decoupling this arrangement, meaning agents will no longer be able to note on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, whether a seller is offering to pay the buyer's agent commission. Buyers will now need to sign upfront agreements to clarify compensation.
While that sounds like huge changes, local real estate agents and brokers don't see them as giant hurdles in terms of future deal-making.
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