the realtor

Does a Canadian realty price-fixing lawsuit have merit?

22/03/2023dansa

A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges that some of Canada’s largest brokerages and real-estate associations are engaged in price-fixing to inflate Realtor commissions.

Brokerages named in the lawsuit include ReMax, Century 21, and IproRealty Ltd., as well as the Canadian Real Estate Association and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.

The lawsuit claims that there is an agreement, among brokerages in the Greater Toronto Area, which applies to any individual listing on the Toronto Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

“When it comes to listing your home for sale, you typically sign an agreement with a listing brokerage,” broker and real estate commentator David Fleming told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday Morning. “You pay a fee and then usually half or some of that fee is offered as an inducement to a buyer’s agent. So this suit is alleging that there is a fix of two and a half per cent, which is what the suit said, that basically forces people to offer that.”

Fleming explained that, on MLS, “you’ll see a lot of two per cent commissions, a lot of half a per cent to one per cent through discount brokerages. There’s a lot that offers one dollar, which is effectively a

Outlook 2023: Western Massachusetts Realtors say home sales market is becoming ‘more realistic’

02/03/2023dansa

It’s the American dream – owning your own home.

But for some, that dream may take a little longer as rising mortgage rates put their dreams on hold in a market that is low on inventory as fewer people put their homes up for sale – all resulting in falling home sales.

The numbers from the National Association of Realtors have not been encouraging.

“In essence, the residential real estate market was frozen in November, resembling the sales activity seen during the COVID-19 economic lockdowns in 2020,” said the association’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun. “The principal factor was the rapid increase in mortgage rates, which hurt housing affordability and reduced incentives for homeowners to list their homes. Plus, available housing inventory remains near historic lows.”

To put the local market into perspective, the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley, in its mid-January report of single family home sales for December showed a 36.8% drop year-over-year from 601 sales in December 2021 to 380 in 2022.

“2022 started off as an overheated market, where people would put their house up for sale and expect multiple offers, some having over the price, resulting in the house selling quickly. But the second half of

What’s the 2023 Florida Outlook?

29/01/2023dansa

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — What consumers, Realtors should do^® and policy makers expect when it comes to Florida real estate over the next year? After the unexpectedly strong years of 2020 and 2021 despite an ongoing pandemic, Florida’s housing sector in 2022 was affected by rapidly rising inflation and higher mortgage interest rates, Florida Realtors^® Chief EconomistDr. Brad O’Connor told nearly 500 Realtors during the 2023 Florida Real Estate Trends summit last Thursday.

Florida Realtors logo (PRNewsPhotos/Florida Realtors)(PRNewswire)

“Now, we expect the state’s residential real estate market to return to a more typical pace,” he said. “I believe 2023 will look more like the ‘traditional’ housing market year of 2018-2019 in Florida as supply and demand become more balanced.”

The event was part of this year’s Florida Realtors^®‘ Mid-Winter Business Meetings at the Renaissance SeaWorld Orlando. In addition to O’Connor, the summit featured John Leer, chief economist of Morning Consult, which uses high-frequency survey data to capture insights into consumer attitudes and concerns. Leer leads global economic research and oversees the firm’s economic data collection, validation and analysis. He is an authority on the effects of consumer preferences, expectations and

Realtors predict the end of a frenetic market in 2023

21/01/2023dansa

Illustration of the year 2022, with a keyhole for a zero, which zooms in so you can see through the keyhole to the year 2023.

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Realtors across the country foresee an increasingly buyer-friendly housing market in 2023, a major shift from the frenetic and expensive pandemic-era housing boom.

Driving the news: The housing market has slowed — thanks to mortgage rates hovering around 6%.

Axios polled more than 75 experts across Axios Local cities to find out what’s in store for 2023 and found that sellers everywhere will have to put in more work to close the deal as buyers aren’t willing to overbid on less-than-perfect homes.

“Buyers have and should continue to have a choice of properties to purchase along with some wiggle room, which could include sellers paying buyers closing costs, decreasing prices and property repairs,” Sheryl Bowden, vice president of Phoenix Realtors, said.

InCharlotte, the market is moving with interest rates, said Jeff Clay, owner of JClay Realty.

And unless those rates come down drastically, “we are likely in for a market with low overall activity, low supply and demand that will probably stay a bit muted,” Clay said.

in San Francisco, Eileen Bermingham with Corcoran Icon Properties predicts “fewer instances of overbidding and multiple offers.

“Buyers will split into two camps: those waiting for prices to fall, or

Horace’s discontinued tax abatement program leaves area Realtors puzzled – InForum

13/01/2023dansa

HORACE — Area home buyers, Realtors and builders will look to make a case for government officials in hopes of reestablishing Horace’s tax abatement program, which was not renewed after it expired on Jan. 1.

Horace’s tax abatement program, which is similar to that authorized by the North Dakota Century Code, gives buyers of new homes a two-year break on property taxes for certain new single-family residential properties and condominiums and townhouses. According to state law, the maximum exemption allowed is $150,000 of true and full valuation of improvements only and land is still taxable.

Horace Mayor Kory Peterson said the City Council every two years decides whether to continue the program or not. This summer, the council did not have a particular appetite for continuing the program, he said.

“I still think it’s a good idea, but we just didn’t have a council that wanted to keep it active at that time,” Peterson said. “It didn’t get brought up again and so it expired.”

The absence of the program, however, took some new buyers by surprise, said Kevin Fisher, a Realtor and former president of the Fargo Moorhead Area Association of Realtors.

Fisher at the last Horace City Council