Real estate commission changes: A new ruling will change the way we buy and sell homes, but Exactly has always been ahead of the curve

By Laura Briedis

The real estate industry is bracing for major changes this month, upending the way in which real estate commissions are paid. Stemming from a lawsuit filed against the National Association of Realtors that challenged the standard 6% commission structure—typically split between the buyer’s and seller’s agents—these are the most sweeping reforms in a century.

“There has been a lot in the news about these new regulations, but there are lots of gray areas and confusion,” says Kevin Wasie, founder of Exactly real estate brokerage. “We don’t know if this necessarily will decrease commissions paid, but they will, at the least, be more transparent.”

Here is what Kevin explains will be the two major changes:

1. Real estate agents are no longer allowed to show houses to prospective buyers without having a signed contract, outlining what the agent is going to do for them and how much they are being paid and who is paying them. Either the seller has to pay the real estate agent, the buyer has to pay, or a combination of both.

“You can still go to open houses on your own without representation or call the listing agent yourself to make arrangements to see a house and negotiate yourself,” Kevin explains. “But if you want a real estate agent to represent you, then you will need a signed contract.”

2. Sellers are no longer able to advertise on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) how much they are paying a buyer’s real estate agent. “They are still allowed to pay them commission and 99% will still probably pay, but they just cannot advertise that on the MLS,” Kevin says.

“These two changes combined will bring more transparency to consumers as far as what they are paying and who is paying, which hopefully will result in a better experience for consumers when they are buying or selling a house,” he says.

Once these new regulations go into effect on Saturday, August 17, Kevin says nothing will change for his company as it already has been following a similar business model and will continue to help sellers profit most from selling their home.

“We have been ahead of the curve,” says Kevin, noting that Americans pay more than $100 billion in real estate commission per year. “We have been operating transparently with a flat-fee model ever since our company was founded in 2018. So these industry changes will not impact our company because we have already been saving homeowners thousands of dollars on commission by charging a $4,800 flat fee instead of a percentage of the sale. And as part of our pricing analysis, we have always shared with sellers what all of the other homes on the market have paid in real estate commissions for buyers.”

“People selling their homes want a high-quality real estate agent, who markets their home well, negotiates in their best interest and is very experienced in the local market while keeping most of their earned equity by paying less commission,” he says. “Our company checks all the marks.”

The Exactly home-selling process is simple. A real estate agent meets with the homeowner to discuss goals, provides an in-depth comparative market analysis, does a walk-though to make sure everything is ready in the home, creates a marketing plan and lists the home.

Once a buyer submits an offer on the company’s proprietary software, the computer program immediately generates an offer summary sheet detailing everything from Exactly’s flat rate and any applicable buyers broker commission to home warranty costs and title insurance fees.

“Our goal has always been to help sellers maximize their net return by minimizing their expenses,” Kevin says.

To list your house or for more information, call 330-615-1414 or visit ExactlyUSA.com. Exactly Real Estate is located at 2998 West Market Street in Fairlawn.