In 2019 a class action lawsuit was filed against the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), Realogy, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices of America, RE/MAX and Keller Williams, and was certified to proceed 6 months ago. This lawsuit alleges that NAR, “created and implemented anticompetitive rules which require home sellers to pay commission to the broker representing the home buyer". There are some law firms advertising this class action suit to the public, so you may run across this.

Sellers are not "required" to pay anything to the buyer's broker as part of their listing fee, but it has always been standard practice that the sellers pay both agency sides. I suppose it originated when all agents represented the seller only, prior to the advent of buyer agency in the 1990s, and still makes sense today as most sellers have the equity in the home to pay it, versus forcing the buyer to add it to their closing costs, which many struggle with in addition to the down payment. If the sellers, via the listing agency fee, pay an unreasonably low amount to the buyer's agent, that would affect their showings as you can imagine, as that forces the Buyer's Realtor to accept a drastically reduced fee, or to ask the buyer to pay their fee on that home, whereas other potential homes they are showing, they don't. In the distant past, the buyer's agency fee was not well known. Several years ago, the exact amount going to the buyer's broker was added to the agency agreement, so the seller knew and agreed what was being paid thru, and since then has been made public on various real estate websites like Zillow and Redfin in the form of a percent of the sale price (most times this amount is split between agent and broker). It has always been visible to agents via MLS.

Here is a quick explanation that I ran across: The crux of the lawsuit is that (1) buyer’s agents avoid showing houses that pay less commissions (vastly not true, especially in hot markets), and (2) buyers should be able to negotiate their fee with their own agent, to create a more competitive marketplace, instead of "forcing" sellers to pay a certain commission to buyer’s agents. They contend that with the advent of the Internet, the role of the buyer’s agent has been significantly reduced.

Here is the reality: Buyer's agents are working harder than ever. And buyers will not relish having to pay them. If the lawsuit leads to sellers paying less or even nothing to buyer's agents, and/or the buyers themselves pay their agents, I believe many buyers will (1) ask the seller to pay that fee as part of the contract negotiations, especially if it turns back to a buyer's market at some point (leading us back to where we are now); (2) more buyers going directly to the listing agent to avoid paying the fee (I am surprised this isn't happening more already); (3) lower purchase offers to make up the difference (in theory that should happen); or (4) the buyer's agent gets paid less for the buyer shouldering the extra cost, driving more agents out of the business. 

Enough of that, how about some happiness! With my Kirkwood home sale 2 weeks ago, I set a record high year for my 32 year career in home sales! Adding a St Charles sale after that, my sales volume YTD for 2022 is $8,334,900 on 24 home sales! The record year I just beat was in 2020, also with my own firm. I owe many thanks to all my clients and influencers sending me business!

Hoeferkamp Real Estate is launching a new company website next week on November 10th! As a single agent company, I have simply had one website at www.GaryH.com, but with adding agents I need to have a separate site that advertises for all of us, and www.HoeferkampRealEstate.com will switch to the new site. Barb, Amy and I have been busy building the text, graphics and links along with the webhost, I hope you visit us after the 10th! Next we will roll out a new company Facebook page as I separate that from my own business page, which will keep its current followers. Once the new company Facebook page is ready (be a few weeks yet), I will send out a request for Followers if anyone wants to add it to their News Feed.

Here is an update on local real estate sales activity as of today:

• Manchester has 8 homes available and 19 under contract
• Ballwin has 30 homes available and 33 under contract
• Kirkwood has 29 homes available and 36 under contract
• St Peters has 29 homes available and 71 under contract
• Arnold has 22 homes available and 35 under contract
• Florissant has 78 homes available and 81 under contract

The ratios run from 1.0 to 2.4 pending sales for every 1 available. Adding the total of these 6 areas is 1.4 to 1. My last comparison in mid Oct was 1.6 to 1 (and 2.8 to 1 in late June) with the available home supply DOWN from October. That indicates a continuing slow down in the STL market, but with fewer sellers listing their homes than buyers buying homes, the inventory is still low and keeping prices stable.

I am currently SOLD OUT of homes for sale! I am actively showing several buyers, and have numerous sellers lining up for next year, but have time right now if anyone wants to sell before the spring rush. Yes, many homes are still selling quickly right now, and for top prices!