As real estate and real estate-related companies continue to cut their workforces, it's become clear that it's no mirage -- the housing market is indeed cooling. Another sign? The real estate giant Redfin has experienced a nearly 92% drop in stock value since last year.

While homes are still more expensive today than they were before COVID-19 changed the world, demand is slowing, and prices are dropping. Redfin recently released data showing which markets are cooling at the fastest rate. What was a seller's market is quickly flipping to a buyer's market in these areas of the country:

You may be aware of a new rule change from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service regarding “Offering” a Buyer’s Agent Compensation (We no longer use the term Commission). While it’s a confusing topic for both consumers and real estate agents alike, The Cascade Team has put together some Questions and Answers on the topic.

What is a “Fair” amount to pay for real estate compensation?

“Fair” is whatever you and the agent decide is fair, and just as you are not under any obligation to pay more than you want, the agent is not under any obligation to do business with you if they are not going to earn what they expect.

The Cascade Team will charge a total of 2% compensation to sell your home if the buyer comes unrepresented.

This includes full

Weekly Review
Newsletter - 10/03/2022

Week of September 26, 2022 in Review

It was a roller-coaster week in the markets, filled with reports on inflation, GDP, home sales and home price appreciation. Here are the key details:

• Consumer Inflation Remains Elevated
• Signed Contracts on Existing Homes Fall for Third Straight Month
• New Home Sales Surprise in August
• Annual Home Price Appreciation Declining But Still Strong
• GDP Negative for Two Consecutive Quarters
• Labor Market Remains Tight

Consumer Inflation Remains Elevated

The Fed’s favorite measure of inflation, Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), showed that inflation rose 0.3% in August, which was higher than expectations. The year over year reading declined from

You may be aware of a new rule change from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service regarding “Offering” a Buyer’s Agent Compensation (We no longer use the term Commission). While it’s a confusing topic for both consumers and real estate agents alike, The Cascade Team has put together some Questions and Answers on the topic.

What is a “Fair” amount to pay for real estate compensation?

“Fair” is whatever you and the agent decide is fair, and just as you are not under any obligation to pay more than you want, the agent is not under any obligation to do business with you if they are not going to earn what they expect.

The Cascade Team will charge a total of 2% compensation to sell your home if the buyer comes unrepresented.

This includes

You may be aware of a new rule change from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service regarding “Offering” a Buyer’s Agent Compensation (We no longer use the term Commission). While it’s a confusing topic for both consumers and real estate agents alike, The Cascade Team has put together some Questions and Answers on the topic.

Why was this rule change put into effect?

For more than 30 years, the compensation framework in the real estate industry was structured for the seller to pay the listing firm and for the listing firm to "share" its compensation with the buyer brokerage firm.  This framework was a vestige from "sub-agency" where every broker represented the seller and brokers did not work directly for the buyer. 

After last week’s post we had several great comments. I’ll address one from “B” here, which really went to the heart of why this change is being made…. That being that the public in general really doesn’t understand who pay’s buyer’s agents’ commissions and how they affect the over-all purchase price of a home.

B Day wrote: Why would a salesman list or try and sell a house with no commission? If a person can sell it by their selves, I say let them but to not have a set commission across the board seems pretty self-defeating.

SEE: Conversations On Real Estate Commissions Part 1

Cary W Porter wrote: Thanks for the question…. It really gets to the heart of why the change was made and the surrounding confusion on real estate commissions.

You’re

Transparency in Commissions

Fact: Real estate brokers’ commission rates are not regulated in any state and are ALWAYS 100% negotiable.

When you decide to sell your house, if you are like most people, you will want to hire — or at least consider hiring — a real estate agent to handle the process.

Surprisingly, many people think that real estate brokerage commission rates are “set” in their area and they have to pay a specific percentage of the sales price to the agent in order to get their services. This is absolutely not the case.  In fact, you can pay whatever you and the agent have agreed upon.

What is a “Fair” amount to pay for real estate commission?

Many people hear the word “discount” company instead of a “traditional”

Ben Luthi

The real estate market has two opposing sides: buyers, who want to keep their costs low, and sellers, who want to maximize their profits. Depending on the inventory of available housing, one of those sides might have bigger advantages — and greater bargaining power — than the other. Understanding the difference between a buyer’s market and a seller’s market can be tied back to one of the fundamental laws of economics: supply and demand.

What is a buyer’s market?

When there is a surplus of homes and low demand for them, you’re in a buyer’s market. Prices tend to go down in these conditions, because there’s less competition. Additionally, homes are likely to stay on the market for longer, putting pressure on sellers to make 

Questions Homebuyers Ask Before & During The Search

What home can I afford?

That depends, of course—on your income and other financial obligations; plug them into a Home Affordability Calculator for a ballpark figure. And do it before you start shopping.  If you see houses you love outside your price range, it opens you up to disappointment.  Meet with a lender to get pre-approved for a home loan (added bonus: pre-approval makes you much more attractive to sellers).

Can I buy a home and sell my current one at the same time?

Yes, you can — but it's the real estate equivalent of walking a tightrope. This is one of the trickiest questions to answer. On the one hand, if you buy a home before you sell the one you're in, you're

You may be aware of a new rule change from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service regarding “Offering” a Buyer’s Agent Compensation (We no longer use the term Commission). While it’s a confusing topic for both consumers and real estate agents alike, The Cascade Team has put together some Questions and Answers on the topic.

What is a “Fair” amount to pay for real estate compensation?

“Fair” is whatever you and the agent decide is fair, and just as you are not under any obligation to pay more than you want, the agent is not under any obligation to do business with you if they are not going to earn what they expect.

The Cascade Team will charge a total of 2% compensation to sell your home if the buyer comes unrepresented.

This includes full