Navigating the NAR Settlement: A Realtor's Perspective

Learn from Christopher Matos-Rogers, Atlanta Realtor Association's 2023 Realtor of the Year, to gain a better perspective on the NAR settlement's impact and make informed decisions.

Over the past three months, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has worked diligently to educate the public about the NAR settlement and its implications. Despite these efforts, many homebuyers and sellers remain uncertain about how the mandatory policy changes, which went into effect on August 17.

The NAR settlement ensured that over a million NAR members were released from liability in several lawsuits accusing the organization of having policies and practices that inflate agent commissions. To secure this release of liability, the NAR agreed to policy changes that reassure the public that commissions are always negotiable.

Here are the two main changes that went into effect on August 17:

1. Compensation offers will be prohibited on MLS listings.
2. Buyers will need to sign a written agreement with their agent, outlining the terms of their compensation, before touring homes.

How will these changes affect you as a homebuyer or seller? Good question!

Join us as we sit down with Christopher Matos-Rogers, 2023 Realtor of the Year in Atlanta and  Associate Broker & Realtor at Coldwell Banker Realty, to answer your questions and discuss the NAR settlement, the forthcoming changes, and what these changes mean for homebuyers and sellers.

Please Note: The thoughts and opinions expressed by Christopher Matos-Rogers are his own and do not reflect the views of Coldwell Banker Realty.

Q: Can you explain in simple terms what the NAR settlement is about? 

A: A lot of people have heard about the NAR settlement, and there's a lot of confusion and a lot of bad reporting about what actually is part of this process. The proposed settlement at this point–and it is important to point out that it is just proposed–will likely be accepted later this year, although there will be changes that will go into effect on August 17th. 

There are two important parts of the settlement.  First, buyer brokerage compensation in many cases has been tied to the listing agent. Right now, like if you go to Zillow, realtor.com, or individual brokerage websites, when you scroll down and look at the listing information, there is a field like all the other fields that populate from the MLS to those public sites. There's one for a buyer broker co-op compensation. That will no longer be allowed in the MLS, but it can still be offered outside of the MLS.

Second, when buyers work with an agent, they will have to sign a buyer brokerage agreement before seeing any homes. This will increase transparency. Many agents are already having these discussions about compensation and what the fees are. But in cases where this wasn't happening, now it will be required.

Q: How do you anticipate this settlement will impact the housing market? What should homebuyers and sellers expect? 

A: Everybody has a different idea of what's going to happen here. Over the next six to 12 months, there's going to be a lot of confusion in the market. It's already starting to creep in.

I think it's definitely going to make things harder for people who are lower income, people who are first-time buyers, people who are putting less money down because if they end up buying a home where there isn't an offer of compensation for the buyer brokerage offered, they may have to pay their buyer's agent.

You're going to find different solutions coming to the market. That's what the market always does. It always finds the new normal. It finds the solutions that the buyers and sellers need.

Q: What questions should buyers and sellers ask these realtors before signing on with them?

A: The great news is that it hasn't changed from what it was before. Buyers and sellers always should have been asking an agent what about their compensation model.  I think more of them will be asking now than they were in the past.

When you are interviewing an agent, whether a buyer or seller, you need to ask what sets them apart, and ask about their volume of business.

About half of agents do zero to one transactions a year. So if you are working with one of those agents, they are not going to have the consistent business to understand the nuances of the market.

Click here to watch the full interview and stay informed about the NAR settlement. 

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