Is there a silver lining in the dark cloud hovering over real estate? Leaving aside for a moment the conventional wisdom that all real estate-like politics-is local, there has seldom been a time when the expertise, knowledge and services that savvy brokers and agents bring to the table have been needed more than now.With resales from foreclosures glutting the market and prices in some areas seemingly in freefall, the days of multiple offers and speculative profits are largely gone. The result has been far fewer FSBOs-homes for sale by owner-and more agent-represented listings.
With a huge inventory of unsold new homes, strapped builders who previously relied on an in-house sales staff are increasingly turning to outside brokers to move the product. In some markets, builders are hard-pressed to pay full commission, leading brokers to cut them a break, lowering commissions, making sacrifices to make a buck. In other markets, however, commissions on new home sales are the same or have never been better, or higher.
So maybe it’s not a silver lining. Maybe it’s only a bronze.
But for some, it’s pure gold. “What’s happened is that just about every builder everywhere is not only paying co-broke commissions but very healthy ones, in the 10 to 12 percent range, to move some of the standing inventory,” says Dennis Walsh, whose California firm (www.SellNewHomes.com) links real estate agents with builders...
