April Newsletter: Rates and Realtor Commissions Update

Interest Rates

The current national average has risen to 7.2% over the course of the past month, up from the 7.04% I reported last month. Taken as a whole, 2024 has not been friendly to interest rates, starting around 6.85% in early January and peaking around 7.25% toward the end of February before trending downward again.

Reading between the monthly data points, the clear message is that interest rates are going to do whatever jobs and inflation reports tell them to do and thus far into 2020, jobs and inflation have surprised the markets with stronger than expected readings.

Less clear but equally important is the persistent psychology of hope that tempers the market response between monthly reports and prevents a straight run up to last year’s highs near 8. In the midst of all this, sellers are emerging from the shadows

The Hubbub About Realtor Commissions and The NAR Settlement

You’ve probably heard some of the noise around the recent law suit and settlement involving the National Association of Realtors. Essentially, there was a major law suit which is having a significant impact on the way that realtors are compensated, and it forces buyers and sellers to make a more direct decision about how they involve realtors in the purchase or sale of their homes.

Some in the industry have said this is going to change everything about real estate drastically. Others have said the whole industry is overreacting and it won’t have any real impact.

One thing is for sure – it will force buyers and sellers to be informed about what their options are when it comes to leveraging the services of a realtor. In this video, I explain what happened in the lawsuit and what you need to know going forward as a buyer or seller.