Vol.45, No.49
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W E E K O F M O N D A Y, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 2 3
THE REGISTRY REVIEW NEW HAMPSHIRE’S STATEWIDE REAL ESTATE & FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER A Publication of The Warren Group
TO OUR READERS
COMMISSION CONCERNS
Are Buyers Agents an Endangered Real Estate Species?
Due to complications arising from the Thanksgiving
Some Take ‘Wait-and-See’ Approach to Commission Lawsuits’ Fallout
Holiday, there are no sales
BY JAY FITZGERALD
included in this week’s issue
REGISTRY REVIEW STAFF
This issue contains only Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy notices, foreclosure auction notices and requests for bids and proposals from state and local public agencies. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. The sales that would have ordinarily been published
Realtor Leader Urges Calm
this week will be included
NAR has vowed to appeal the court decision, which only covers Missouri but is expected to set the pattern for a host of other national and state-level lawsuits challenging the same compensation structure. In a recent online interview hosted by New Hampshire Association of Realtors president
in next week’s issue of The Registry Review.
Many local Realtors don’t subscribe to doomsday predictions about the future of buyer agency, but most predict the current commission structure is headed for the exit.
Ben Cushing, NHAR’s legal counsel, Matt Johnson, said future legal challenges to the ruling could take three to five years to resolve, so no immediate action is needed to formally change how real estate transactions are conducted across the state. “This is the very beginning of this dispute,” Johnson said in the NHAR video. “The good news is that the agents and brokers of New Hampshire do not have to do things differently.” In a statement to the Registry Review, Cushing expressed confidence that the current deal-making process in New Hampshire, if followed closely, is proper and fair when it
comes to commissions. The standard forms NHAR offers its members “are designed to be transparent” to buyers and sellers he said, and the commission negotiation process creates room for competition. “It’s important to understand that there is no ‘standard’ commission rate, that each transaction is independent and negotiable,” he said. “Buyers and sellers are counseled to understand the commission statements, and both have to sign off before the transaction moves forward. If the terms aren’t acceptable, they are welcome to negotiate. There are various models, including entry-only, discount,
NEW HAMPSHIRE MARKET STATISTICS
Sincerely, Cassidy Norton Associate Publisher
Number of Mortgages for Single-Family Homes 3,500 3500
3500
INDEX
Refinance
2500
Purchase
2000
2,500 2500
1500 1000 500
2,000 2000
REAL ESTATE RECORDS
Both
3000
3,000 3000
PG
iStock illustration
N
ew Hampshire real estate industry leaders are nervously hoping that a recent federal court ruling won’t lead to a major overhaul of how buyer agents are compensated in coming years. The entire industry was shaken this fall when a federal jury in Missouri ruled that the National Association of Realtors and several large brokerages had conspired to inflate the commissions paid to real estate agents. The anti-trust ruling took direct aim at the industry’s so-called “cooperative compensation rule,” which calls for home sellers to pay for the commissions of buyer agents, as well as commissions for their own listing agents. Critics of the cooperative-compensation system claim it has effectively led to collusion among agents and excessive fees. NAR and brokerages were ordered to pay damages of nearly $1.8 billion – a figure that could rise to more than $5 billion if treble damages are awarded.
of The Registry Review.
0
Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept Oct.
1,500 1500
COUNTY
1,000 1000
3 Bankruptcies
Continued on Page 6
Want to see your news Both featured in a Refinance future issue of Purchase The Registry Review?
500 500
- Lien & Attachments
00 Oct.
Nov. Dec. Dec. Jan. Jan. Feb. Feb. Mar. Mar. Apr. Apr. May May June June July July Aug. Aug. Sept Sept. Oct. Oct. Oct. Nov.
3 Foreclosure, Mortgagee & Other Lien Auctions
’22
3 Requests for Bids & Proposals 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
7000 7,000 6000 6,000 5000 5,000 4000 4,000 3000 3,000 2000 2,000 1000 1,000 00 Sept.
’23
Both
BothMonth
Purchase
Refinance
Both
Oct. 2019
Refinance
1,414
3,186
4,600
Oct. 2020
1,462
4,995
6,457
Oct. 2021
1,104
3,895
4,999
Oct. 2022
959
1,609
2,568
Oct. 2023
705
1,472
2,177
Refinance Purchase
Purchase
Sept.
Sept. Oct.
Sept. Oct.
’19
’20
Sept. Oct. ’21
Sept. Oct.
Sept. Oct.
’22
’23
❑ Statistics based on single-family home sales ❑ Source: The Warren Group ©2023 The Warren Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher.
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editorial@thewarrengroup.com.