“We want to move to Florida. Can you help?”
“We think it’s time to sell our house and go smaller, what do you think our house is worth?”
Ray and I chat with people every day with those questions. They are among the most common questions a Realtor will get regarding our little piece of paradise along of the gulf. When people are moving to Florida the conversation could go like this: “We sold our house, and we will be there in 3 weeks,” OR “We won’t be ready until we retire in two years.” Whichever stage you are at, Ray and I get to work. We love working with our Buyers- be it 3 weeks to find a house or two years. We start with a conversion to find out what they are looking for in a home. Then we search through the MLS (multiple listing system) for homes that match what they are describing. We provide information on HOA’s, find out about flood zones, property disclosures, and run comps on neighborhoods. We do video tours of homes before they get here or if they are already here, we schedule the showings. YES there really is a schedule we aim to keep when showing houses. Our tour of homes could be one home, or it could be a dozen homes in a day. Of course, before we look at homes we put our Buyers in contact with a local lender and we provide them with an estimate of their closing’s costs, including inspections, HOA application fees, survey fees, etc. We will explain about Florida Homestead and property taxes. Ray and I have conversations with the listing agent to see what additional things our Buyer needs to know about the house. Then when our customer finds the one, we write an offer. We negotiate the offer and we attend the Buyers inspection with them. We stay on top of and manage the contract from start to finish.
Recently something happened that changed a part of buying and selling real estate nationally. You may have heard the “big” news story as it was all over the news starting last Spring. There was a class action lawsuit and the NAR (National Association of Realtors) decided to settle rather than continue the litigation. The settlement is lengthy so to sum it up in my I-am-not-an-attorney way, the judgment said Buyers didn’t know Sellers were paying the agent working with the Buyer a commission and Sellers didn't know the compensation was negotiable.(which is humorous to me because what do people always joke "everything is negotiable.") The settlement creates another dynamic in the home buying process.
So, what does that mean to Buyers and Sellers? Here goes my simplified explanation… One thing is in the Real Estate Agents only section of the MLS, it will no longer have an area that shares whether there is a commission or not, or how much the commission is. This means that Real Estate agents will need to call each Listing Agent to find out if the Listing Broker or the Seller is paying a commission (aka compensation) to the Buyer Agent. It's just been customary for Sellers to pay the commission for decades. If the Seller and/or the Listing Broker doesn’t compensate the agent working with the Buyer how does the agent get paid? Well, that is where it really gets interesting. This is why the phone call to the Listing Agent is so important. You see the judgment says (and the fines are huge if we don’t do this) the agent working with a Buyer MUST have the Buyer sign an agreement BEFORE ever showing a home (virtually or in person). This agreement is required to tell the Buyer several things. One is the amount the agent will receive for their services, another is to declare where this agreement is valid (such as which counties or zip codes). It must also explain that if the Listing Broker or Seller is not paying the compensation then does the Buyer agree to pay for their agent's work OR the Buyer can opt to say, “I do not want to see any homes where the Listing Broker or Seller is not paying the commission.” Last thing the Buyers Rep Agreement must say is compensation isn’t a universal set amount, and the Settlement says the document must be easy for all to understand. Coldwell Banker has had their legal team on top of creating the Buyer Representative Agreement, plus an added bonus is that one of the Coldwell Banker attorneys is also on the Florida legal team creating the State of Florida standard for the Buyer Representative Agreement. Think of the Buyer Representative Agent Agreement as kind of like signing a listing agreement with a real estate professional, saying you will work with this Broker/agent in your house hunting quest. Sellers might be thinking, “Wow, I don't think I want to pay the Buyer’s Agent compensation?” Well, when that compensation is rolled into the price of the home then it is part of the purchase price. If it's part of the purchase price, then it can be a part of the Buyers mortgage. Otherwise, a Buyer will need to come up with the additional cash at closing to pay their Buyer Agent. They are already coming up with a large sum of closing costs and they may not have the additional cash. Therefore the Buyer may have to pass on your house because they can’t cover the compensation.(Sellers this could limit showings) It could be that if a Buyer is a cash buyer and Seller is not paying the Buyer Agent commission, then the Buyer may reduce their offer to the Seller allowing them to cover the cost of the agents compensation. Also, Sellers take note of one of the requirements of the agreement that Buyers sign. There is an option for them to say, “I don’t want to see homes if the Listing Broker or the Seller is not paying the Buyer Agent compensation .” Sellers, this would limit your Buyer pool and that is not advisable. Ever. Or, if you only want your Listing Agent to show the house and want an have an exclusive listing meaning only they can bring you the Buyer, (which has always been rare and exciting when it happens for any Listing Agent), now your Listing Agent will be working both sides of the transaction so naturally anticipate your Listing Agent will require a greater compensation percentage for their exclusive work.
Below are three snippets from articles over the past few months ….
Traditionally, sellers and their agents agree on a commission fee, typically 5 to 6 percent of the home value, with the amount paid out of the seller’s proceeds and split between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent. Most buyers have not had input into the fee and were not aware that it was negotiable.
Urban Institute March 28
In March, plaintiffs accepted a settlement proposed by NAR, which would remove offers of compensation from the MLS and require agents to sign contracts with buyers. The rules are expected to ultimately lower costs, however, buyers may need to pay agents out of pocket.
WSJ June 2024
Most real estate agents in California get paid through commissions. Commissions are typically calculated as a percentage of a property’s sale price, though some brokerages will charge a flat fee. The average agent commission rate nationwide is 5.8% of the home sale price, according to HomeLight’s real estate transaction data of thousands of home sales each year. Homelight July 2024
To summarize, over time this settlement will just become the normal way of buying and selling a home. Real Estate agents across the nation have been receiving training and new agreement documents have been written and rewritten by attorneys . Starting August 17th the judgment for the settlement goes into effect nationally. We have appreciated Coldwell Banker’s very intentional way of preparing their agents for months for this revised way of doing business. What I want you to take away from this is that Ray and I have been through many hours of continuing education. One thing that has not and will not ever change is that Ray and I will continue to bring you honest, clear communication with the most up-to-date market data that you deserve as you buy or sell real estate in Southwest Florida. We will be with you from start to finish and beyond. Our mission statement is still our goal “Making real estate dreams a reality”. If you want to chat about this please reach out to us.
August Stats, Data, & local news
Here are a few links to local news that we thought you might like to know...
North Port has an Amazing Aquatic Center
Charlotte County has ok'ed some new developments
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens are pretty special
Paw Park-- a dogs day at the beach
Now for market stats and data:
The Gulf Coast is for sure furry friend friendly. Most single family home communities allow 2 and some even three dogs whatever the size. Many are adding doggie parks and offer waste stations. But, is condo living pet friendly?
Pet-Friendly Condos:
Bradenton: Out of the 551 condos for sale 277 of them allow pets.
Sarasota: There are 755 condos for sale and 401 allow pets.
Venice: Currently there are 275 on the market and 127 say yes to pets.
Punta Gorda: Out of the 313 condos on the market 185 are pet friendly.
Englewood: little beach town on the grow has 110 condos with 60 of them say yes to pets.
One thing to keep in mind as you are looking for a pet-friendly condo are the Association By-Laws. Some only allow cats. Some only allow small dogs. Some say only 1 cat and 1 dog. They might even say the total weight of the two pets can't be over 30 pounds. And then there are some that say "Yes, your Great Dane and your overweight kitty cat are totally fine." The key is having your Realtor (that would be me!) look into the rules BEFORE you go see the condo! I will even do my research and work to get you a copy of those by-laws. Of course a service animal is allowed anywhere and everywhere.
And please remember! If there is a pond, creek, waterway the potential for alligators living there should be assumed. Do not feed the alligators! And do not let your doggies walk close to the waters edge.
Stats right now on the overall condo market: We will look at the SOLD days on the market and percentage of list price Sellers received in the last 90 days. Also, the average days on the market for the active listings.
Sarasota: Average days on the market for condos sold in the last 90 days was 85 and Sellers received 96% of their list price. Current active listings, their average days on the market is 140 days..
Venice: Average days on the market for condos sold in the last 90 days was 117 and Sellers received 95% of their list price. Current active listings, their average days on the market is 131 days.
Punta Gorda: Average days on the market for condos sold in the last 90 days was 99 and Sellers received 95% of their list price. Current active listings, their average days on the market is 149 days.
The data shows me that the condo market has slowed down. Which is normal in the summer months. There are plenty of condos to choose from. So if you are considering jumping into the market right now might be the time.
So, a little silliness for you...
Ray and I hope your August is as magical as
dolphins swimming with humans!
Warmest Regards as always,
Mary & Ray
