LIME REALTY GROUP has one more prediction for the coming year and we’ll wind this series of blog posts down! We’ve made a lot of predictions and today we’ll do one that strikes just a little bit closer to home.
We think 2017 will be a hard year for agents who are seeing their commissions fall each year. Because competition for sellers and buyers can be intense, a lot of brokers and agents are offering discounts on their standard rate in order to entice more clients to work with them.
Now this trend is a bit of a slippery slope. Because you get a break on the commission, it’s possible the agent may be less inclined to put forth their best effort on selling your property.
There are also a growing number of disruptive companies offering new, money-saving ways to buy and sell homes and we anticipate more people will try this options as they are new. But these online services can cut out a lot of the emotional connection people have with their agent. These business’ also impact agents and take clients who would probably have a better experience working with an agent then paying a flat fee for a listing service.
People who continue to use traditional brokerage service will continue to negotiate deals on the commission they want to pay their agent. Either way, it’s a dramatic change in the way real estate is handled.
Politics will also play a huge role in this year’s housing market. The Trump administration proposes new infrastructure spending, mortgage market reforms and changes to immigration that will continue to shape the housing market for years to come. The end result is strong buyer demand in a client of mounting affordability pressures from higher prices and increasing mortgage rates.
But don’t worry about all of that. Make the right choice and choose an agent who does all of the worrying for you! Call Lime today!