Yeah, it's definitely a racket. They pay dividends ffs.

But liability (in all cases - house, car, job...) necessitates it.

Now I have that damn song stuck in my head!

I don't think it'll move the needle because you're going to ask top dollar. Plus, an agent that needs extra incentive (or disincentives) should be avoided at all cost. You're also going to be in the...

Honestly, I'd just offer 2.5/2.5 % commission, and price it at what you're comfortable clearing. I'd also be up front about not even entertaining low offers.

But if I were going to propose a...

Redfin is trying it. Not sure if it's fully baked yet.

Barriers to entry too low. Same goes for home inspectors.

For sure.

Wow. There are no rules against it in WA. And in the rare instances I hired a guy, I was there with him.

I was actually just being a smartass.

But you can't be saying with a straight face that economists aren't attempting to predict the future. Krugman predicted a soft landing this morning on...

I was comparing the widely held belief that American residential RE cost per square foot was in the $220-240 range, and the UK plus Wales is about £320. Maybe the discrepancy is average home size?...

Agree, and so are we. And no sympathy for agents from me either. It's just that I've been privy to just how stupid buyers can be, and having someone in your corner to possibly save you from yourself...

Yeah, absolutely. Total guess, but there's probably a big chunk of the mid-high market that gets shaken loose. Like someone selling their million plus house in Bellingham to buy a million plus in...

We got one of those cards when the house next door sold. Didn't recognize the agent, so obviously not a big player in this town, but the general implication was that they sold it. Except it was my...

I notice that article uses the UK for examples, but despite their lower commission costs, the average home cost is significantly higher than in the US - both in price to income, and in real £/$. Same...

The same ones who predicted a major downturn for 2023, and/or failed to predict the 2008 financial crisis? Yeah, I'm ok with that.

For smart buyers, yeah totally. Others are gonna get fleeced. Which I admit is what happens now as well. My only real point here is that this isn't the gift to buyers people think it is.

Because...

The harm for me? None. Actually, this will benefit me. The harm for first time buyers? They either just lost their representation, or will pay for it on top of whatever the market is on the property....

Yes.

Let's say your house is worth 3 mil today. You want to sell it, so you grind the listing agent down to 1%, and offer selling agent zero. House sells for asking, and you pocket that minus your costs +...

Bingo

The property will always sell for market, regardless of the ask, but the split has been moved in favor of the sellers (which is exactly what the original lawsuit contended).

And when this shakes out, the sellers will be able to put it in their own pockets.

Buyers always set the final price. Zero offers = price reduction or no sale. Once there are multiple offers, the...

Agree. In the Seattle-to-the-Canadian border market, 2.5/2.5% has been pretty much the norm for a while now.

My prediction is that total commissions paid will be further pressured downward, and...

Massive gift to the owner class.

That wave of rich HK immigrants basically killed Chinatown in favor of Richmond.

That 100% exists. I (and a few of my friends) did some moonlighting work for a guy who was a self described "offshore banker". From what he was willing to divulge, his book of business was Hong Kong...

Vancouver has entered the chat

Sometimes it's not just greed. When our company owned an office building, we had to conform to zoning meaning our ground floor anchor tenant had to be classified as light industrial. The TIs for that...

Both the province of British Columbia and the city of Vancouver have a vacant home tax (2% and 3% respectively). It applies to a single property, and it doesn't even have to be vacant. It can simply...

lol

Americans have been making people faster than housing.

And that little bald freak is just the latest billionaire asshole jumping into "rentifying" the market.

As a former air ambulance pilot I can confirm that's true for all of North America. I've literally had medics tell me "we need to get there before they kill him"

Here's a realtors suck story: there's one in this town whose voicemail message states, "I'm going to be honest. I don't answer my phone. All communication will be by text"

Even as a joke, that's lame.

That house in Silver Beach with the shitty shake roof, and improperly built leaky addition... the new owners literally just moved right in, SMH.

You're (probably intentionally) missing the point that the disruption everyone's cheering for will be 100% for the owners. If buyers agents disappeared tomorrow it's the sellers who would pocket the...

Ha! yeah. They were staying in an airbnb and said "we want something like this" (McMansion on 5 acres with view of Mt Baker). Well, if you could just stretch your budget up to double, no problem!

Definitely buyers. Wife just lost one. Represented them for about six weeks. Put about 500 miles on the car. Wrote two offers. Earned exactly zero dollars. And when they realized they simply can't...

Ugh. I wish my better half wasn't taking a covid-fear break at the time because she works her ass off for buyers, and will talk them out of making a mistake even when it means she was going home with...

All forms of social are slathering over this as the death of the buyers' agent. What they're not getting is that buying a house would be like buying a car from a dealership. They hold all the cards,...

I know many agents with part-time jobs. The public/internet generally views this as "bored housewives", but it's actually the opposite. They're trying to be full time agents, but can't pay the bills.

We won our first house even though the competing offer was higher. Without getting into the details, they just liked us better.

For starters, people are weird. After that, the property needs to appraise at the selling price for the collateral side of the loan. When it comes up short someone needs to cough up some cash. Since...

Define correction.

Points only make sense if you plan on staying in the home until the break even point. Crystal balling where rates will be at x point in the future is a fool's errand, and broker buddy is fishing for...

Can't remember the name but there was a reality show about Aussie RE auctions. Lots of anger and tears on the sidewalk.

Yep. The brokerage firms are pyramids. Bringing new agents onboard as part of your "team" to generate sales (generally though their social contacts) is part of the business plan, and commissions are...

Absolutely. The listing agent's fiduciary responsibility to the seller must trump the buyers. The conflict of interest is baked right in.

Sales has no fair hourly rate.

On the buyers' side, RE should transition to fee for service (I've been a broken record on this for pretty much ever). My wife's ratio of offers written to offers...

The number that sell five in a year is still a small percentage of the total.

Yes Richmond BC.

Mom & kids fluently bilingual. Dad comme ci comme ca. Places they saw in France weren't run down. Places in Okanagan less good while more expensive. They stayed in Richmond.
...

One of my best friends lives in Richmond. They were looking to move to a house in the Okanagan or a chateau in France. Guess which was cheaper.

And for Airbnbs.