Confusion reigns on eve of real estate commission changes

A landmark legal settlement governing real estate commissions takes effect in a matter of days.

Nevertheless, Nicholas Rosen of Castro Valley is still having a hard time getting agents to explain what will happen when he lists his home for sale next fall.

“At this point, I have more questions than answers. I’m really not sure how the settlement will affect me,” said Rosen, 38, an attorney who grew up in Riverside County. “I wanted to ask what would be in place of that (traditional fee). Would it be a negotiated rate? Would it be a flat fee? … She really couldn’t answer.”

Questions outnumber answers as Realtors race to implement the biggest revision in decades to their compensation system. 

To resolve a $1.8 billion class-action challenge to seller-paid commissions, the National Association of Realtors agreed to two changes in how buyers’ agents get paid:

— Seller offers to buyer agents no longer can be made in a multiple listing service, or MLS.

— Homebuyers now must sign contracts spelling out how much their agents will get paid before the agents can begin showing them homes. Until now, such agreements were rare.

Agents said it’s going to take several months before buyers, sellers and agents figure out how to operate under these new rules, effective Aug. 13 in most of Southern California.

“Am I worried there’s going to be confusion? Yes, of course,” said Caleb Keith Gonzalez, broker-owner of VonKeith...