“In
many
respects,
in
the
(Biden)
administration’s
efforts
to
decrease
the
cost
of
housing
and
the
cost
of
transacting
housing,
they
have
clearly
indicated
that
they
want
to
see
downward
pressure
on
commissions,”
said
Damian
Eales,
the
CEO
of


Realtor.com
parent
company


Move
Inc.

“The
outcome
of
the
antitrust
actions
and
the
settlement,
and
all
of
the


Department
of
Justice’s
influence,
has
created
an
environment
where
there
will
be
greater
transparency
of
fees
and
greater
competition,
and
I
think
the
administration
wants
to
see
more
professionalism
from
the
industry.
On
the
face
of
it,
none
of
those
things
are
bad.”

Willis
likened
the
pressures
currently
facing
the
industry
to
the
concerns
and
pressure
felt
in
the
early
2000s
after
the
emergence
of


Zillow.

“In
terms
of
transparency,
I
don’t
think
we
have
anything
to
fear
here.
I
think
it
is
time
to
be
transparent,”
Willis
said.
“I
remember
leading
KW
back
in
2004
when
Zillow
showed
up
and
everyone
thought
the
sky
was
falling.
There
were
concerns
that
the
firewall
that
we
had
built,
which
was
the
MLS,
would
be
public
domain.
And,
in
essence,
under
increased
transparency,
our
industry
has
thrived
like
it
never
has
before.”

Additionally,
leaders
believe
an
industrywide
increase
in
professionalism
will
ultimately
lead
to
a
better
consumer
experience.
This
is
a
positive,
they
note,
even
though
they
believe
it
will
lead
to
some
agent
attrition.

“Full-time
agents
probably
have
a
better
chance
than
part-time
agents,”
said

Erik
Carlson,
CEO
of


RE/MAX
Holdings.
“Agents
need
to
have
a
certain
level
of
skills
in
order
to
educate
buyers,
sellers,
negotiate,
etc.
Those
folks
that
are
professionals
will
have
a
better
chance
than
not
to
be
successful
moving
forward.
Buyer
representation
is
really
important
because
it
is
a
complex
transaction,
so
I
think
agents
that
are
willing
and
able
to
deliver
on
and
talk
about
their
value
will
be
more
successful
than
a
lot
of
others.”

With
fewer
agents
competing
for
deals,


eXp
World
Holdings
CEO

Glenn
Sanford
sees
this
new
landscape
as
a
great
opportunity
for
top
agents
to
be
even
more
successful.

“You
can
only
work
with
a
finite
number
of
consumers
in
any
given
time,
which
means
that
if
you
are
a
good
agent,
there
is
going
to
be
more
demand
for
your
services
than
you
have
the
capacity
to
supply
to
the
marketplace,
which
fundamentally
means
that
they
can
charge
what
they
want,”
Sanford
said.

“In
some
markets,
I
could
see
those
top
agents
earn
more
post
the
new
norm
(rather)
than
less,
because
they
can
say,
’This
is
what
I
charge
and
if
you
want
to
work
with
me,
great,
and
if
you
don’t,
that
is
fine
because
I
am
busy.’”

It
remains
to
be
seen
whether
NAR’s
settlement
agreement
will
be
approved
and
if
the
DOJ
will

seek
further
involvement
in
the

commission
lawsuits,
but
for
now,
real
estate
executives
are
choosing
to
see
how
some
of
the
changes
the
litigation
is
engendering
may
be
a
positive
opportunity
for
brokerages,
agents
and
consumers.