What Sellers Need To Know About the NAR Settlement

Recently, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reached a settlement agreement that will change the homebuying and selling process. While a REALTOR® will still be there to help you through the journey, here’s an overview of the changes that will go into effect on August 17.

As a seller, you still have the choice of offering compensation to buyer brokers. You may consider doing this as a way of marketing your home or making your listing more attractive to buyers.

When working with your REALTOR®, they must disclose and obtain your approval for any payment or offer of payment that a listing broker will make to another broker acting for buyers. This disclosure must be made to you in writing in advance of any payment or agreement to pay another broker acting for buyers, and must specify the amount or rate of such payment.

If you choose to approve an offer of compensation, there are changes to how this can happen. As a seller, you can still make an offer of compensation, but your REALTOR® cannot include it on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS)—MLSs are local marketplaces used by both buyer brokers and listing brokers to share information about properties for sale. Your REALTOR® can advertise your listing via off-MLS platforms such as social media, flyers and websites. And, as a seller, you can still offer buyer concessions on an MLS, like concessions for buyer closing costs.

To read more details about these changes, visit facts.realtor.