Why The New Mandatory Buyer Agency Agreements Are Going To Help You as an Agent

[Jonathan Greene]

We all know what happened on August 17th because of the NAR ruling and lawsuit. To show a home, you must have either a non-exclusive buyer agency agreement (a one-off) or an exclusive buyer agency agreement signed with a client to show them homes. It's not negotiable.

Most brokerages have failed their agents in preparing for this. The general rhetoric was that this was going to make it harder to be an agent. That is wrong. Commissions on all sides have gone up nationally since August 17th. Why? Because the best agents in the business (and the smartest buyers and sellers) know their value.

Don't let yourself be negotiated into tiny commissions because you feel you have no other options. Since August 17th, in my area (Northern NJ), I have not shown a home that was not giving between 2 and 2.5 percent buyer compensation. I show mostly luxury homes, which is more expected here than at lower prices, but it's still of note. Smart sellers will eventually offer better comp because they know they will get more showings since buyers can note on the buyer agency agreement that they don't want to see homes that don't offer compensation for their agent.

Take the ruling as a time to adjust your business model to less spray and pray (work with anyone) and more tailored clientele with a concierge feel. If you stop chasing leads and start earning business by showing your value versus the rest of the scabs in our industry, you will be able to call your shot on your commission.

I sign all of my buyer agency agreements now at 3%, but with the proviso that if the seller is offering 2% or more, I will go down to that amount. I do this because sellers are going to offer 3% (they are in my market), and if I signed for less, I could not get the overage.

To secure my buyers in this new environment, I made a 27-minute video going through the whole agreement and pointing out the things to beware of. I also created a five-email drip campaign that prepared them to sign. You got this. Don't crumble. Now is the time to do better.

One more note - it's not a good use of your time to sign a one-off showing agreement in my opinion. Sometimes you have to for a new client, but I would try to build more rapport on Zoom meetings or prep calls so they sign the exclusive before you start showing.

How is it going for you?