You might have heard that this month, changes to the National Association of Realtors’ rules governing commission fees finally went into effect. In Vermont, these rules were actually implemented in July just to be safe, but now this is the case across the country. Since they were announced in March, the amount of discussion and speculation around the consequences of said changes has made it challenging to figure out what it all means for buyers, sellers, and agents alike.

What’s different is that a buyer agents’ commission can no longer be assumed on most properties. In practice, most sellers are still finding it useful to offer a cooperation fee, especially as homes in some areas are sitting on the market longer.

In short, it is no longer permitted to put offers of cooperative compensation for properties on the MLS (multiple listing service), or for realtors to show property to anyone without first signing a buyer-broker agreement. The goal here is to make clients fully aware of their options around negotiating real estate commissions, and generally reflects best practices already followed by Element.

Looking at the Chittenden County housing data for July, we can see that the market is slowing down slightly from June, and median days on market is nearly double what it was a few months ago. Median sale price also dipped modestly by 1% from its June high. Mortgage rates dropped slightly this month for the first time in a while, likely due to investor confidence in a Fed rate cut in September, which could drive mortgage rates down again. Keep an eye on this if you’re looking to buy in the near future.