Restructuring Agency Relationships in the Real Estate Brokerage Industry: An Economic Analysis

Recent state legislative reforms of real estate agency relationships suggest that traditional agency law and practice are not meeting the needs of the parties involved in a residential real estate purchase and sales transaction. In this article, we argue that this is due, at least in part, to the bundling of information and representation services provided by brokers. This bundling results in a tradeoff between the benefits of buyers and sellers in sharing information prior to a match, and the cost to the parties individually of revealing information during bargaining. We conclude that, from an economic perspective, effective agency reform must solve this basic conflict, perhaps by unbundling the matching and representation functions.

Real Estate Brokers' Duties to Their Clients: Why Some States Mandate Minimum Service Requirements

Abstrac

Broker Duty to Clients: Why States Mandate Minimum Service Requirements

Since 2004, ten U.S. states have enacted laws that mandate real estate brokers to provide real estate consumers with a minimum level of services. The federal government and the academic literature suggest that such state laws are a result of anti-competitive industry collusion, and serve no consumer protection justification. This paper attempts to determine the factors that led states to adopt minimum service requirements, despite significant federal opposition. The analytical structure employs hazard models, using a unique set of economic and institutional attributes for 50 U.S. states from 2000 to 2007. Contrary to initial expectations based on the literature, our results indicate that both strength of a state.s Realtor association and broker membership on real estate licensing boards decrease, rather than increase, the likelihood of state adoption of broker minimum service requirements. Factors that do increase the likelihood of adoption include higher state licensing complaints and a democratically controlled state legislature.Minimum Services, Hazard Model

Is the Compensation Model for Real Estate Brokers Obsolete?

This study examines the traditional compensation model for real estate brokers under which both the listing and buyer brokers are paid by the seller based on a percentage of the property sales price. We argue that this model has not evolved to reflect contemporary legal agency relationships and technology-driven information availability. It therefore creates substantial transactional inefficiencies for buyers and sellers at both the matching and bargaining stages of a transaction. While there is evidence that market forces are pushing for a change in the status quo, there is also evidence that the brokerage industry is resisting this change by pursuing anti-competitive policies and laws. We explore the economics of the current and alternative compensation structures and suggest policy implications regarding anti-competitive behavior in the brokerage industry.agency, brokerage, multiple listings, percentage commission

Is the Compensation Model for Real Estate Brokers Obsolete?

This study examines the traditional compensation model for real estate brokers under which both the listing and buyer brokers are paid by the seller based on a percentage of the property sales price. We argue that this model has not evolved to reflect contemporary legal agency relationships and technology-driven information availability. It therefore creates substantial transactional inefficiencies for buyers and sellers at both the matching and bargaining stages of a transaction. While there is evidence that market forces are pushing for a change in the status quo, there is also evidence that the brokerage industry is resisting this change by pursuing anti-competitive policies and laws. We explore the economics of the current and alternative compensation structures and suggest policy implications regarding anti-competitive behavior in the brokerage industry