In Case You’ve Missed the Recent Headlines

Attention all REALTORS®! If you haven’t been keeping up with the recent headlines, some important practice changes will be taking effect on August 17, 2024. These changes, set forth by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), aim to streamline the MLS process and ensure fair practices among all parties involved in a real estate transaction. In this blog post, we will delve into the specifics of these practice changes and how they may impact your day-to-day operations as a REALTOR®.

The new NAR Practice Changes include several key points that all real estate agents should be aware of.

1. Eliminate and prohibit any requirement of offers of compensation in the MLS between listing brokers or sellers to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives.
   
   
2. Retain, and define, “cooperation” for MLS Participation.
   
   
3. Eliminate and prohibit MLS Participants, Subscribers, and sellers from making any offers of compensation in the MLS to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives.
   
   
4. Require the MLS to eliminate all broker compensation fields and compensation information in the MLS.
   
   
5. Require the MLS to not create, facilitate, or support any non-MLS mechanism (including by providing listing information to an internet aggregator’s website for such purpose) for Participants, Subscribers, or sellers to make offers of compensation to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives. 
   
   
6. Prohibit the use of MLS data or data feeds to directly or indirectly establish or maintain a platform of offers of compensation from multiple brokers or other buyer representatives.  Such use must result with the MLS terminating the Participant’s access to any MLS data and data feeds.
   Reinforce that MLS Participants and Subscribers must not, and MLSs must not enable the ability to filter out or restrict MLS listings that are communicated to customers or clients based on the existence or level of compensation offered to the cooperating broker or the name of a brokerage or agent.
   
   
7. Require compensation disclosures to sellers, and prospective sellers and buyers.
   
   
8. Require MLS Participants working with a buyer to enter into a written agreement with the buyer prior to touring a property. 
   

One of the most important things we need to remember with changes on the horizon is to BREATHE. I personally have been using buyer rep agreements for 25 years, so these changes aren’t that different for my business. If you haven’t used buyer rep agreements previously, you’ll quickly learn how it puts the buyer in full control of their negotiations and really does offer them tremendous benefits.

In conclusion, these new NAR practice changes are designed to promote fairness, transparency, and ethical practices within the real estate industry. As a real estate agent, it is essential to stay informed about these changes and ensure compliance with them. By understanding and adhering to these new guidelines, you can continue to provide excellent service to your clients while upholding professional standards in your business practices.

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Until next time…