A message from the Board President

Greetings MVAR & Happy December to each of you!

This past month, I was able to attend the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Board of Directors Meeting in San Diego, California. As a member of the delegate body, I represented our association and it’s 1488 members in a vote that would largely alter how our industry adapts and evolves the guidance for local broker market places. These measures were a concentrated effort to help protect transparency for American consumers, as they search for their next home.

Change is inevitable, and there is arguably no industry more prone to change than the American Real Estate market. While rapid technological advancements have largely disrupted the way we do business, these innovations have changed the way consumers will view housing information and the way in which they will understand it. Simply put, these rules passed because it best serves consumers.

It came to no surprise that there was an overwhelmingly favorable vote by our Board of Directors to accept the proposed guidelines changes, which is already explicitly stated in the spirit and intent of the NAR Code of Ethics, when it speaks of remaining committed to consumer transparency and broker participation.

The first change is to reinforce that local broker participants do not represent brokerage services as free, unless the member will receive no compensation from any source for the services. Additionally, to clarify, this does not limit your ability to provide clients with a comparable market analysis at no cost.

What this is truly aimed at doing is eliminating the line we’ve all heard: ‘as a buyer’s agent, my services are free to you as the buyer.’ Which is simply not true and has been counted as a common practice within the industry in various markets. This change corrects this conversation to reflect the truth, in that, a commission is paid to a buyer’s agent when they bring a ready, willing and able buyer to the table, and not free.

The second change is to guarantee that compensation offered to buyers’ agents is disclosed freely and openly in all marketing and advertising. No longer will consumers be questioning the amount of compensation their representing agent will be paid, as it will be shown on all listings available to the public. This is an effort to ensure complete transparency on the buyer side of dealings.

This came about as a result that sellers understand the fee they are paying, as it is outlined in the listing contract. However, Limited Buyer Broker Service Agreements are not always used by an agent when representing a buyer. As such, there is no way for the consumer to understand how much commission is being offered to the buyer’s agent, when shopping for their home, in comparison to what they have agreed to pay with a service agreement. This change aims to eliminate the confusion surrounding the offerings being made to a buyer’s agent, on each listing.

The third amendment is to ensure that listings are never excluded or filtered from a consumers search results, based on the amount of compensation being offered to a buyer’s agent.
Among these changes, were also 6 recommendations on MLS Policy, which were also adopted by the NAR Board of Directors and Delegate Body. To read more on those policy changes, you can find them in greater detail here: https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/policies/mls-best-practices

Simply put, these rules were passed because it will improve our rapidly changing industry for the better. REALTORS® are grounded in our unwavering commitment to act in the best interest of home buyers and sellers, and it is our duty to regularly review and update our policies to ensure that marketplace practices continue to advance efficiently, equitably, and transparently.

While these changes are simple ones, they best serve home buyers, sellers and their agents by providing a transparent hub to navigate through, before finding their home. Being a REALTOR® is a responsibility to take seriously and uphold with the most integrity possible. Let’s partner together to continue to reinforce our pro-consumer, pro-competitive guidance however possible. Let’s speak so clearly, we cannot be misunderstood.

Happy Holiday’s to each of you! I am looking forward to an amazing 2022. 

At your service, 

Ashleigh Fordham