Settlement To Settle In (Deep Dive 👇): The NAR has agreed to a $418 million settlement to resolve home sellers' lawsuit challenging its commission-sharing policy. This will abolish the rule requiring listing agents to offer commissions to buyer’s agents through Realtor-controlled services. The change reflects a movement toward empowering homeowners in the real estate transaction process and potentially altering the commission structure. (TRD)

$1 Homes? In This Economy?: The Baltimore City Board of Estimates has approved a program to sell certain vacant homes for as little as $1, aiming to address the issue of more than 13,000 vacant homes in the city, nearly 1,000 of which are city-owned. Despite City Council President Nick Mosby's opposition and concerns over the lack of written protections to ensure city residents are prioritized in the buying process, the program passed with a four-to-one vote. It allows individual buyers and community land trusts to purchase these homes for $1, small nonprofits for $1,000, and developers and larger nonprofits for $3,000. (WBAL)

Smaller Is Better: A NAHB study highlights a significant shift in homebuyer preferences, revealing that the desired size of homes has decreased over the past two decades. In 2003, the average homebuyer was interested in properties offering 2,260 square feet of finished space. By 2023, this preference had diminished to 2,067 square feet. The data indicates a permanent shift in buyer desires, with the preferred size dropping from the 2,200 to 2,300 square foot range (2003-2012) to a smaller 2,000 to 2,100 square foot range since 2015. This trend suggests a changing landscape in the real estate market, with a growing interest in more modestly sized homes. (NAHB)

Now, real estate agents are forced to adapt or exit the business. It's like watching a reality TV show, 'Survivor: Commission Island', where the only way to get off the island is actually to help someone afford a house.

Trust us, you won’t want to miss this one…