Should Sellers and Buyers Compensate Their Own Agents?

Showing Time, using Bright MLS statistics, has released its Local Market Insight report for single-family homes in Delaware County, Pennsylvania through December 2023. This report allows us to compare all of 2023 to 2022.

If you would like more information about this or any other County or any specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com. I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries....

Year-Over-Year Statistics (2023 compared to 2022):

As far as the statistics, there were 6586 new “For Sale” listings through December 2023 compared to 7747 through December 2022, a decrease of 15.0%. There were 5563 “closed” sales through December 2023 compared to 6983 through December 2022, a decrease of 20.3%. These are obviously huge changes. The median selling price through December 2023 was $315,000, up 5.0% from one year ago. The decline in the number of newly listed properties impacted the number sold while slightly increasing their selling prices. Again, this was County-wide and may not reflect your local experience.

Month-Over-Month Statistics (December 2023 compared to December 2022):

In December 2023:  the number of new listings was 275, down 14.3% from last December 2022 (321). The number of “active” property listings was 512, down 13.0% from one year ago (532). The Days on the Market (DOM) was 25 (22 YTD) and the “Sold to List Price” ratio was 97.6% (100.1% YTD). The “Months of Supply” (MSI) was 1.5 months, down 10% from one year ago, still a strong “sellers’ market”.

The decreased inventory combined with pricing and demand have created our current market although the impact of higher interest rates, even if historically low, remains to be seen. Again, these numbers vary throughout the County:  the underlying data shows a wide range of results in all categories among the 49 different municipalities in Delaware County....

Here is a link to the full Blog post.

Thank you for listening to/ reading this information.

Remember, when it comes to selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment in money, time and effort, 

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations! 

HIRE WISELY:  We are not “all the same”!

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

“The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers is an annual survey of recent home buyers and sellers who completed a transaction between July 2022 and June 2023. The report has been published since 1981…. The survey contained 129 questions”. 

The over-arching theme is that, while the pandemic is over, the housing market “offers limited housing inventory and affordability constraints”. Your experience may be different so I recommend talking to a Real Estate professional to see what is going on in your local market. 

Today’s focus is sellers.

 Here are some seller highlights:

To read the "highlights" or the whole Blog, please click here.

To conclude:

One major take-away that seems consistent over my years in Real Estate is the wide disparity in selling prices between Real Estate–assisted sales and those achieved by private sellers. Sellers working with a professional have more exposure (marketers call that “eye-balls”) through the multiple listing service, generally offer some compensation to agents representing buyers (many FSBOs will not) and possess the experience, education and training that typical private sellers do not.

That being said, people have their reasons for wanting to undertake such a potentially complex process on their own. Private sales often involve sales where the seller knows their buyer and other situations where perhaps maximizing the selling price is not the goal. To each their own I suppose. Most sellers I have met want to maximize their “return” so they can use their “equity” to buy their “next home”.

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

“The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers is an annual survey of recent home buyers and sellers who completed a transaction between July 2022 and June 2023. The report has been published since 1981…. The survey contained 129 questions”.

 The over-arching theme is that, while the pandemic is over, the housing market “offers limited housing inventory and affordability constraints”. Your experience may be different so I recommend talking to a Real Estate professional to see what is going on in your local market.

 Today’s focus is buyers, both first-time and repeat.

Here are some buyer highlights:

To read the "highlights"  or the whole Blog, please click here.

To conclude:

One statistic that was not mentioned is how many weeks a typical buyer spent getting ready to formally start the process. Historically, these surveys showed that buyers spent about three weeks before contacting a Real Estate agent. During that time they looked online and did other things to identify houses to consider, including visiting open houses and requesting showings. While their choice, I have met a number of prospective buyers over the years who learned that they needed to do “some work” to qualify for financing or, even worse, learned that buying a home was not possible in the short-term.

The three weeks they spent “getting ready” delayed their eventual plans or were a waste of time. Sadly, some agents will show houses and spend time with prospects who have not taken the steps to acquire financing. Most sellers will not respond to an offer without evidence of financing. It must be frustrating to find a house you really like and then have to wait to arrange financing while other “better-prepared” buyers have a chance to put a house under contract that you really like.

There is enough information available so buyers should know how to start the process. Real Estate professionals must guide them once a prospective buyer contacts them.

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

Suppose you contacted me to discuss my helping you sell your home or any piece of Real Estate. What would you think if I told you that I could greatly increase your proceeds by reducing what you expected to pay me by my not using a portion of my fee to pay the agent representing the buyer? Would you be thrilled or skeptical?


There are different business models for compensating Real Estate agents. Our rules and regulations require that we disclose how we are paid and that the fee is negotiable. Having the seller pay a negotiated commission or fee to their listing broker/ agent at settlement or the closing of a sale remains the most common. In turn, the listing broker would offer compensation to the buyer broker/ agent who got the property sold and settled. That offer is an incentive to show and sell Real Estate.

While that business model makes sense and has worked for years, as I will explain, over the years many have questioned having a seller provide the compensation that would ultimately end up paying the buyer’s agent. That “question” finally caused enough of a stir that a major change has occurred with respect to compensation. 

My local MLS, and I suspect many others, adopted a change to how properties are listed in the MLS. As stated in a recent release to agents, the MLS now will “allow users to enter any amount in a listing’s cooperative compensation fields. Prior to this update, the cooperative compensation fields required entry of at least one cent….. the fields will allow any amount, from zero and up.” The release went on to explain the change as allowing “subscribers to engage in transparent negotiations with their clients.” That seems logical, doesn’t it?

Real Estate agents have two commodities to trade for the opportunity to earn a fee or commission. One is our time, meaning that any time we devote to developing leads and working with prospects, customers and clients has to be invested wisely as the amount of time we have is finite. Time management is one of many topics we have to master. How much is our time worth? Can we differentiate between important tasks and urgent ones? How is our time best spent? Some agents have a better handle on this than others.

One of our challenges is to evaluate which clients to accept based on the likely outcome of our working for them. It boils down to probability:  am I likely to sell a client’s house or is a buyer likely to buy a house? Of course, this is a “people business”. Nothing is guaranteed and we will all spend some time for which we know we will not be compensated. The goal is to manage our time as best we can or at least recognize when “time” spent is becoming a concern such as when it distracts us from more efficient and effective pursuits....

To read the rest of the text/ Blog, please clic

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

It took more than 26 years working in Real Estate and meeting with and working for hundreds of homeowners but I finally got to experience some of what many sellers have to deal with when trying to sell their homes. Sure, I understood logically what selling your home might feel like. I know the process, the forms and have seen what can go right and what can go wrong. I have mediated disputes between sellers and buyers since 2002. I have also served on every level of my REALTOR Association’s Professional Standards Committee so I am very familiar with disputes between agents and their clients. But I was never actually involved on the selling end.

I have had numerous discussions, often emotional, with sellers concerning their frustrations and anxiety but living through it reinforced what I have tried to provide as far as advice although I better understand the process now. How a seller handles and manages the selling process and their emotions depends on their circumstances and their personality. Selling your own home or the estate of a relative or friend is different from selling an investment property. It is more “personal”.

Years ago, my mother-in-law told me that she wanted me to sell her home when the time came. This was after my father-in-law died. I guess I assumed that she would be alive and moving to her next home when the time came. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I listed and sold her estate, the house my wife and her eight brothers and sisters grew up in and where I had spent many holidays and family gatherings. My wife was the executrix which added to the process even if I were not the actual seller.

After hearing about my experiences with listing and selling Real Estate and working with buyers over the years, my wife got a formal introduction into what I do. Starting with discussing the house, marketing, comparable sales, the paperwork including the property disclosure and what can happen leading up to settlement, we began the process. My wife was objective so the emotion was minimized.

Fortunately, the location and the house generated a lot of interest. That being said, I got to experience firsthand how a “seller” reacts to scheduling appointments, receiving feedback and actual showings. There were issues, more like inconveniences than major problems, since the house was empty so showings were easy to schedule. We weren’t there so we do not know when agents actually showed up but feedback suggested that all but one did show up. One agent did not show up or cancel which we learned when he rescheduled his showing hours after he was supposed to be there....

To read the rest of the text/ Blog, please click here.
 

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

A recent article posted on RETechnology.com discussed a survey conducted by the WAV group which pointed out several “truths” about multiple offers and how losing buyers feel afterwards. 

Here is a breakdown: 

1)      Almost 51% of respondents said they faced competition; 38% said they were not sure. Exactly how did they “know”? 

2)      Over 46% felt they had an “equal opportunity” to win, slightly higher among white buyers (49% vs. 45%). Again, how did they know?

3)      Most of the white buyers said they were outbid while 68% of them felt that finances were at fault when the process was unfair. Cash offers and investors were viewed as having an advantage with financing. Some felt that a seller “favored” their buyer or had bad advice.

4)      62% of minority buyers also cited finances as being the difference with cash buyers and investors being part of the issue. 6% felt some discrimination ....

Let me start by saying that multiple offer situations sound fantastic for sellers and dreadful for buyers. Maybe; maybe not. There is no “one size fits all” description and feelings about them likely fit a combination of how one feels when they learn that there is competition and then how it turns out for them.  “Multiple offers” simply means that more than one buyer is interested in the same house. This is NOT retail so there may not be more than one house of a certain type to be bought. ..

 Let’s focus on there being competition. My first question is always this:  is there competition? How do you know? Having multiple people at an open house or an individual showing is not conclusive. Having a listing agent tell you there is “multiple interest” or “multiple offers” is also questionable. I have been lied to. As I have blogged before, as a listing agent I specifically discuss the possible scenarios with my sellers and am reluctant to disclose multiple offers and never multiple interest. Unless the multiple offers include at least one that is worthy of being signed, having more than one unacceptable offer means nothing. Multiple interest is nice but, unless it generates any serious offers, so what? ...

Let me be specific. Discrimination sucks and has no place in society. Sellers have every right to negotiate and make decisions based on objective needs. Suppose a seller accepts a lower offer with a better settlement date or some other variation? How do those who offered more money feel? Do the differences get discussed or does the losing agent or buyer make reckless claims? ...

It would be nice to know EXACTLY why the process stalled.

Remember, when it comes to buying or selling what is likely your biggest asset and your largest overall investment of money, time and effort,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY:  We are not “all the

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

Let me start by offering two thoughts. First, I am NOT an attorney. Second, Real Estate fees or commissions are NEGOTIABLE by law. Brokers and their agents are REQUIRED to disclose their fees and how they are earned to their prospective clients. Local market may “appear” to establish a “range” of fees that work or do not work as far as listing and selling Real Estate but it is still the client’s choice as far as whom to hire and what they will pay. That being said, some consumers are better at negotiating than others. This plays out when offers are written, submitted and responded to....

 Generally speaking in my market, sellers agree to pay a negotiated fee to their agents if their property goes to settlement. Listing agents market their listings to the public through a variety of means. If the use the multiple listing service they typically offer some specified compensation to the buyer agent who successfully sells and settles their property listings. While the MLS does NOT require the offer of compensation, there are reasons to offer a market-oriented compensation to encourage property showings and offers that must be managed. 

The reason is simple:  agents representing buyers are expected to have formal, written contracts and they should include any fees and how they are earned. While practices may vary, in my experience, buyer agents are willing to accept compensation from listing agents with the specific understanding that their buyer-clients will offset any difference between what the buyer agreed to pay their agent and what a specific listing agent is offering through the MLS. The key question is will a buyer be willing to pay anything directly to their agent AND pay a “fair market” price to the seller? Do they even have the funds but I will go into that later.

 All that being said, there is NO STANDARD fee and COLLUSION between firms is against the law. However, competition is NOT! I read a number of studies and articles over the years in addition to working with many sellers who had been unsuccessful trying to sell their properties with other agents. It is my opinion that property listings that offer less compensation than their local competition tend to take longer to sell and often achieve lower prices.

To read the full Blog, visit https://andrewwetzel.wordpress.com/2023/10/28/should-sellers-and-buyers-compensate-their-own-agents/

As with many things that "appear to make sense", BE CAREFUL what you wish for. There are ALWAYS consequences and the unintended ones can be painful!

Remember, when it comes to buying or selling what is typically your biggest asset requiring your largest overall investment in money, time and effort,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations.

HIRE WISELY:  We are not “all the same

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

Showing Time, using Bright MLS statistics, has released its Local Market Insight report for single-family homes in Delaware County, Pennsylvania through September 2023....

To read the full BLOG, visit https://andrewwetzel.wordpress.com/2023/10/28/bright-mls-september-2023-delaware-county-pa-residential-housing-report/

Jumping to the statistics:

As far as the statistics, there were 5216 new “For Sale” listings through September 2023 compared to 6414 through September 2022, a decrease of 18.7%. There were 4160 “closed” sales through September 2023 compared to 5496 through September 2022, a decrease of 24.3%. These are obviously huge changes. The median selling price through September 2023 was $315,000, up 5.0% from one year ago. The decline in the number of newly listed properties impacted the number sold while slightly increasing their selling prices. Again, this was County-wide and may not reflect your local experience.

The number of currently available “Active” properties (648) is 2.9% below one year ago. The Days on the Market (DOM) (19) is down slightly (3 days) from one year ago and the “Sold to List Price” ratio (100.4%) is up 1.1% from last year, showing the evolving market. The MSI (Months of Supply) is 1.5 months, compared to 1.3 months one year ago, still a strong “sellers’ market”.

The decreased inventory combined with pricing and demand have created our current market although the impact of higher interest rates, even if historically low, remains to be seen. Again, these numbers vary throughout the County:  the underlying data shows a wide range of results in all categories among the 49 different municipalities in Delaware County.

This is historically the time when sellers take their properties off the market to avoid activity over the Holidays and decide when to resume their marketing. Some will wait for Spring when they will likely face competition. Depending on their motivation, I encourage sellers to plan and prepare for resuming the marketing in January if the weather is conducive. That may provide them with a good opportunity if there is little competition.

Buyers can continue to monitor the market and, assuming they are prepared to take action, they can evaluate new listings and price reductions to see if any properties appeal to them.

Thank you for reading this information. If you would to discuss your plans, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com. 

Remember, when it comes to selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment in money, time and effort, 

There is no time for inexperience, empty

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

Showing Time, using Bright MLS statistics, has released their Local Market Insight report for single-family homes in Delaware County Pennsylvania through December 2022. If you would like more information about this or any other County or any specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com. I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries....

To read the full Blog, click here.

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) has published its annual report. The report is based on surveys of recent home buyers including those who sold one property to buy another. The survey consisted of 129 questions mailed to 153,045 recent home buyers. These reports began in 1981 with just 59 questions and are intended to provide insight into consumer behavior, specifically their needs and expectations.

The reports are as unique as the economic, social and demographic environment. The time period covered ran from July 2021 through June 2022 and was impacted by a number of major events including a Real Estate market in transition.

The highlights are broken down into several characteristics.


To read the Blog, please click here.

If you would like to discuss this topic further or have any other topics you would like to discuss, please contact me at your convenience.

If you would like information about Delaware County PA or any other County/ specific municipalities in the Delaware Valley, please contact me or visit my website, AndrewWetzel.com.

I am only a phone call, an email or a text away! I respond promptly to all inquiries.

Click here to read my Blogs.

Click here to listen to my Podcasts.

Please remember, when thinking about selling or buying what is likely your biggest asset and largest overall investment,

There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!

HIRE WISELY: We are not “all the same”!