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New landscape for real estate market
In the last 24 hours, a thousand homes in DFW have posted price reductions.
DALLAS - The real estate landscape has shifted in the last two months.
Experts are seeing changes after a cut to interest rates and the settlement of a class action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors.
As part of the deal, there is a new set of rules that determine how agents who work on commission get paid and who pays them.
Buyers can now negotiate what percentage of the selling price their agent receives.
"It's not negatively impacting our business. Most of our realtors with Texas Realtors are seeing it as an opportunity more than anything else," said Jef Conn, the chairman of Texas Realtors.
Some relators report prospective buyers don't want to negotiate.
FILE - A residential real estate for sale sign is seen as inflation and interest rates increase on Oct. 27, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
"They specifically said they do not want to see homes that are not offering buyer-agent compensation, so if they are going to be responsible paying for my professional fees, then they don't want to see that home," said Robert Lewis, Jr of Ink Realty Group.
Statewide prices are down just a little and selling has slowed.
Worries about the economy, plus growing insecurity around the coming presidential election are partly to blame.
"Year-over-year it's softened. I think we're down about four percent in the Dallas MSA. That's why I say we've seen the demand wane a little bit, but we've also seen an uptick in inventory, so we're almost at four months in most of the marketplaces here in DFW," said Ashley Gentry, the President of the MetroTex Realtors Association.
The position the market is in now is much different than in 2020 and 2021 where many houses were on the market for just hours before getting big money offers.
"A lot of consumers are excited about having more choices on the market and not having to make a split-second decision," said Conn.
Sellers seemingly are making decisions. In the last 24 hours, a thousand homes in DFW have posted price reductions.
Mortgage rates are also dropping. They are now at two-year lows, but still well above the rates we saw during the pandemic.
"Now you're starting to see where people are saying, let's go ahead and price it accordingly based on the market attention and that rate adjustment that happened," said Stephen Lewis of Ink Realty Group.
The Fed cut the interest rate by a half-point earlier this month. It was the first cut in four years, and there may be another drop by the end of the year.
"That's exciting for buyers who are having to spend a lot more money to get in to those homes. They have options, they have resources. Sellers are willing to be a little bit more negotiable right now," said Gentry.