CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The National Association of Realtors will enforce several policy changes starting Saturday.
The new policies are a result of a $418 million settlement from a lawsuit claiming homeowners were forced to pay inflated real estate agent commissions when they sold their home.
Local relator Joe Esquivel said the community shouldn't be too worried about the changes which include things like a mandatory buyer agreements and compensation discussions.
"Homeownership is part of the American dream and I think that dream is still strong and I don't think that's going to change that," Esquivel said.
He said buyers representation agreements have always been common in Texas, but under the new rule, homebuyers are now required to sign a contract before touring an available house.
"I mean it's always been good practice to have an agreement in place with somebody prior to showing them a new home," Esquivel said. "It protects you and the consumer."
CEO of the Corpus Christi Association of Realtors Brian Morales said it's a system change when it comes to communicating compensation. Brokers will no longer be able to communicate their compensation to each other through their system.
"So they can still have those conversations with their clients, the other brokers but that happens off of our MLS system," Morales said.
He said this is an opportunity for real estate agencies to build a trusting relationship with homebuyers.
"It does layout plainly I think in language what's expected from the buyer, what's expected from the broker, services, fees, commission, compensation, things like that," Morales said.
He said purchasing a home is the largest transaction many of us will make in our lives, with massive financial and personal impact.
"The importance of having someone with expertise to represent the interests of both buyers and sellers is invaluable," Morales said. "This settlement does nothing to prevent buyers from seeking representation and lays out a very clear process by which buyers establish a relationship with their brokers."
He believes these new policy changes will be beneficial for every party involved in buying a new home.