As I tell my clients who want me to look into the future “If I owned a crystal ball to see the future I would not be here today doing your inspection!”. 
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Sorry. Got carried away with your obsession on other threads…please forgive me… 
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Well of course! That’s why we’re left with what we like to call “educated guesses”!
Reading the comments here it is interesting to think of the implications for the role of the buyer’s agent. In countries like Australia for example, the buyer’s agent gets a flat fee for their services and it has been that way for years.
I guess at the end of the day a seller needs to sell their house. If they can accomplish that with a lower overall commission rate then that is great for them. However, they may have a hard time finding a motivated buyer who is willing to have either no agent or to pay for one out of pocket.
What we may see more of is transactions with dual-agency in states where that is permitted. As many have said though, it will take some time to see how the dust settles on this one.
I never understood why inspectors get so bent out of shape over what agents make on a RE deal. Maybe it varies from market area to market area. I’d say 85% of my leads come from agents and the rest is from Googling and referrals. When I get a lead from an agent, I never have to compete on price. It’s an easy and lucrative sale. There are very few houses on the market in my area and prices are still going up. The last inspection did, the client has been working with the agent nearly 2 years to get in a house. 2 years showing houses… how much is that worth? I made more per hour than the RE agent made. 3 hour inspection and maybe another couple hours driving and writing the report. Comparatively my job was easy. This agent is a very high producing agent. In normal times I get at least 5-10 inspections a month from her. That is down to maybe once or twice a month. I know her income is significantly lower. Because she’s a high producing agent, she’ll weather this storm. A lot of the newer agents I work with have already gone belly up and had to find another job. I’m in a very competitive market (DC area), still multiple offers over asking. These agents are busting their butts to survive. Honestly, so am I. My income is down 25% and my inspection count is down more than 30% since last year. This is my 1st year in business that my income has gone backwards. I could care less what agents make. The good experienced agents are closing the sales, the rookies aren’t. I want my agents to make a tone of money and continue in the business and refer me to their clients. Some of the agents I’ve worked with for several years have only done a handful of sales this year. The only way they survive is by making bank when things are good and living off that when things are bad… like now. Anyway rant over. If I wanted to make what a RE agent makes, I’d be a RE agent and not a home inspector.
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President and CEO both resigned.
Saw that today. What a mess for them. Realtors are in denial though. One of the most upvoted comments on a popular Youtube video on the topic was this little gem I found:
Somehow I don’t think these guys are getting it
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As for as mortgage companies, it has long been recognized that buyers bring the money to a closing. Sellers don’t pay for squat in a typical transaction. Without the buyer, nothing happens. (Flat fee listing agents are often paid up front for their services, but the buyer’s agent is paid from the funds brought by the buyer at closing) The selling price and appraisal has the commissions and costs built in. Buyers, even with hefty down payments, are financing the commissions and closing costs into their loans. Only cash buyers pay these commissions directly from their pocket.
This is definitely an interesting and game changing development. There should be an instant reduction in property values since commissions are built into the prices. I can see a scenario where there could be a major reduction in the number of real estate agents.
The interesting question, is will lenders allow buyers to finance their buyer’s agent fee into the loans, or will buyers need cash for that? If buyers are paying agent fees out of their pockets, there will almost certainly be fewer home inspections, because cash poor buyers will (hell, they do now) waive an inspection. Sellers can pay their listing agent’s fee from the equity when the transaction closes.
No doubt, NAR will go down fighting or just bankrupt out.
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So I wonder how this will affect the inspection industry, if at all.
After a $1.8 billion verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% real estate commission | CNN Business
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With buyers potentially having to pay for their agent in the future, it will likely mean that many will be trying to save on other parts of the transaction, including inspections. That or they’d try to do it without an agent.
Either way it may impact inspectors.
A home inspection is the one expense that buyers are traditionally accustomed to paying for, but a buyer’s agent was typically the point of referral.
If buyer’s agents will be playing a diminished role, Inspectors will likely have to do much more direct to consumer marketing.
Probably no major changes for a while though… until all the appeals get their day in court.
One aspect that agents don’t seem to get is the percentage of sales price means agents are getting double/triple what they used to make for selling the same house.
The average person on a jury is thinking, wait, in the last 10 years, my salary has gone up maybe 15%-30% for the same work. Yet these agents are making 2x-3x for the same work.
Regardless if anyone thinks it is justified or not, it’s not going to sit well with the average working adult who gets called into jury duty.
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The only really winners, will be the lawyers.
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How does this affedt us?
I have seen this a few times
RE commission inflates home prices
I disagree. In a buyer’s market, sellers may even lose money when they try to sell their house through a realtor. It is all about the net to seller. Sellers decide if they want to reduce their net in exchange for the services of a Realtor. In a slow market, I have seen buyer agent incentives increase above the standard commission split. Such as Buyer agent cash bonus offered by the seller.
Maybe the banks will finance buyer agents and it becomes part of the closing cost. At that point, the buyer/seller can negotiate who pays the closing cost (with embedded buyer agent commission)
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I have to agree with you here. The market determines the price, regardless of all commission splits. It’s the seller who wins or loses.
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And they continue to pile on. More lawsuits: Real Estate Verdict Spurs ‘Race to Courthouse’ Over Collusion
It’s over for NAR.
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That’t the thought around here, too.
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