A lot of people mistakenly think sellers base buyer-agent fees on what kind of offer they get for their home, says Joan Herlong of Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty.
“It matters because sellers are no longer obligated to pay anything to the buyer agent,” Herlong says. “Most of my sellers, for example, aren’t committing to a set fee, or percentage, any longer. They’re instead opting to negotiate buyer-agent fees as part of the final sales contract.”
This is tied to a change in National Association of Realtor rules that took effect in August related to guaranteed compensation for buyer agents.
“As of August, listing agents cannot recommend, imply or expect sellers to offer compensation to buyer agents,” Herlong says.
As a result, Herlong says, sellers are beginning to base buyer-agent compensation on whether the buyer agent is bringing any value to the transaction.
“Are they facilitating the transaction or just throwing up roadblocks?” Herlong says. “Because too many buyer agents simply parrot the buyer’s concerns and that doesn’t bring value. It only adds static and difficulty.”
This doesn’t mean a buyer must cater to the seller, but it does mean that buyers’ agents should ask intelligent, informed questions on behalf of the buyers.
A recent transaction underscores Herlong’s point.
“The buyer agent simply relayed her buyer’s concerns over and over again, making us wonder if she was not relaying our answers back to them, or whether the buyers were not listening,” Herlong recalls. “Either way, it gave the seller pause, and they went with an offer from another agent.”
