"In reality, NAR rules specifically direct listing brokers to determine--in consultation with their clients--the amount of compensation to offer
buyers' brokers in connection with their MLS listings," the Association argues.
The chart only includes sellers' brokers, because
buyers' brokers' names are not available in city data or listings.
This practice potentially creates a disincentive for home sellers or their brokers to offer less than the prevailing rate, since
buyers' brokers may show high-commission properties first.
In particular, these commenters express concern that financial holding companies acting as
buyers' brokers may pressure or require buyers to use the financial holding company's mortgage product (to the exclusion of loans from other lenders) or may fail to refer buyers to other lenders who might have more competitive mortgage products.
They could still be the agent or subagent of the seller, but they could also become
buyers' brokers, i.e., brokers who represented only the buyer's interests, regardless of whether the seller pays the broker's commission.
"Through our marketing platform, we were able to achieve prices more than 33 percent higher than the top offers the owner received both directly and through
buyers' brokers before engaging us.
Shvo said the practice of shutting
buyers' brokers out is "going on everywhere now," adding that the cause was a lack of inventory.