Big changes take effect this month that will mean seismic shifts in how most Americans buy or sell a home and could ultimately drive down residential real estate prices.
Starting on Aug. 17, agents who list homes for sellers on widely used realtor databases won’t be able to offer any payments to buyers’ agents.
That means the power to negotiate realtor commissions will shift away from agents in favor of buyers and sellers.
It also means sellers will no longer be on the hook to fund commissions for all realtors involved in the transaction — a fee that usually amounts to 5% to 6% of the home’s sales price. The seller’s agent commonly shared roughly half of that commission with the buyer’s agent.
Instead, buyers will be entitled to separately negotiate their own agent’s pay and get a signed contract formalizing the terms — all before touring any properties for sale.
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“Under the old system, if you were a buyer and you had an agent, you didn’t get any say in what your agent got paid, unless your agent agreed to credit some of that to your purchase price,” said Venable LLP partner Jill Rowe, who represents real estate brokers and owners.
The new terms are far-reaching because they apply to properties listed on Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), databases controlled by the National Association of Realtors that host more than 90% of all US home sales.
These changes are designed to eliminate conflicts of interest in the real estate industry and make the process friendlier for consumers.
They could drive down real estate commissions and home prices, some said, while transitioning the business of real estate services to more of an à la carte industry.
The new rules came about as a result of a class-action lawsuit from home sellers who argued the old fee-splitting structure was unfair.
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The core of their argument was that the old structure artificially fixed commission rates and influenced agents to steer clients to homes that paid higher commissions. That, in turn, inflated home prices.
A for sale sign stands outside a single-family home in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The new rules were agreed to as part of a $418 million settlement with the National Association of Realtors and several large real estate firms last March, ending the first in a string of similar cases to go to trial.
Here is a closer look at what buyers and sellers now need to know:
‘What kind of commission am I paying?’
It will require some homework and patience to understand your rights and obligations under the new system and benefit from the new arrangement.
The “big change,” according to Rowe, is that agents who list homes for sellers on MLS databases won’t be able to offer any payments to buyer’s agents — as was the practice for decades.
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The other significant change is that agents representing buyers will no longer be allowed to take a prospective client to tour any properties without first obtaining written consent about the fees and commissions that the client will have to pay.
All of these details can be negotiated by the buyer. The contract must explain if the agent’s compensation will be calculated as a flat fee, as a percentage of the home’s purchase price, as an hourly rate, or otherwise.
And under no circumstances can that agent’s commission be open-ended or dictated by a seller’s agent.
An aerial view of homes in a housing development in Santa Clarita, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) (Mario Tama via Getty Images)
Plus, agents must disclose that their commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law.
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“If I were a buyer or seller of a residential property right now, what I would say to my broker is: What kind of commission am I paying?” Rowe said. “What am I getting for that? And what would I get if I had a 1% lower commission, or a 2% lower commission?”
Jennifer Stevenson, a New York State Realtor and NAR regional vice president, said in the past agents could also use listings to offer compensation to other seller’s agents and to cooperating brokers.
“Now we’ll no longer be able to do that,” Stevenson said.
She noted that buyers and sellers were always permitted to negotiate commissions with agents and that under the new rules listing agents will still be allowed to negotiate commission splits, but only outside of the MLS.
A ‘different value proposition’
The ultimate effect on the residential real estate industry is not yet known, although some certainly expect commissions, and even home prices, to fall.
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At minimum, it’s expected to place more power in the hands of clients, especially those already using residential real estate platforms like Zillow (Z), Redfin (RDFN), Realtor.com, and Trulia, to find homes and home details posted on MLS databases.
An iPhone showing the Zillow app. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) (Smith Collection/Gado via Getty Images)
These platforms had already been disrupting the residential real estate industry by allowing sellers and buyers to efficiently search for information that only relators using MLSs once provided.
“You can just go online, and you can see everything that is available … what its price is, all of the different terms, look at the neighborhood, and see pictures of what it looks like,” Rowe said.
That technology has tremendously reduced the amount of time that agents, and particularly buyer’s agents, spend on behalf of their clients.
“Quite often, the buyers are finding something online and saying, ‘I want to take a look at that,’ and either going by themselves to the open house, or having their agents call the seller’s agent and arrange a look,” Rowe said.
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“So it’s just a different value proposition.”
Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @alexiskweed.
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My spreadsheet reviewed a WalletHub ranking of financial distress for the residents of 100 U.S. cities, including 17 in California. The analysis compared local credit scores, late bill payments, bankruptcy filings and online searches for debt or loans to quantify where individuals had the largest money challenges.
When California cities were divided into three geographic regions – Southern California, the Bay Area, and anything inland – the most challenges were often found far from the coast.
The average national ranking of the six inland cities was 39th worst for distress, the most troubled grade among the state’s slices.
Bakersfield received the inland region’s worst score, ranking No. 24 highest nationally for financial distress. That was followed by Sacramento (30th), San Bernardino (39th), Stockton (43rd), Fresno (45th), and Riverside (52nd).
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Southern California’s seven cities overall fared better, with an average national ranking of 56th largest financial problems.
However, Los Angeles had the state’s ugliest grade, ranking fifth-worst nationally for monetary distress. Then came San Diego at 22nd-worst, then Long Beach (48th), Irvine (70th), Anaheim (71st), Santa Ana (85th), and Chula Vista (89th).
Monetary challenges were limited in the Bay Area. Its four cities average rank was 69th worst nationally.
San Jose had the region’s most distressed finances, with a No. 50 worst ranking. That was followed by Oakland (69th), San Francisco (72nd), and Fremont (83rd).
The results remind us that inland California’s affordability – it’s home to the state’s cheapest housing, for example – doesn’t fully compensate for wages that typically decline the farther one works from the Pacific Ocean.
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A peek inside the scorecard’s grades shows where trouble exists within California.
Credit scores were the lowest inland, with little difference elsewhere. Late payments were also more common inland. Tardy bills were most difficult to find in Northern California.
Bankruptcy problems also were bubbling inland, but grew the slowest in Southern California. And worrisome online searches were more frequent inland, while varying only slightly closer to the Pacific.
Note: Across the state’s 17 cities in the study, the No. 53 average rank is a middle-of-the-pack grade on the 100-city national scale for monetary woes.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
The up-and-coming fintech scored a pair of fourth-quarter beats.
Diversified fintech Chime Financial(CHYM +12.88%) was playing a satisfying tune to investors on Thursday. The company’s stock flew almost 14% higher that trading session, thanks mostly to a fourth quarter that featured notably higher-than-expected revenue guidance.
Sweet music
Chime published its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results just after market close on Wednesday. For the former period, the company’s revenue was $596 million, bettering the same quarter of 2024 by 25%. The company’s strongest revenue stream, payments, rose 17% to $396 million. Its take from platform-related activity rose more precipitously, advancing 47% to $200 million.
Image source: Getty Images.
Meanwhile, Chime’s net loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) more than doubled. It was $45 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with a fourth-quarter 2024 deficit of $19.6 million.
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On average, analysts tracking the stock were modeling revenue below $578 million and a deeper bottom-line loss of $0.20 per share.
In its earnings release, Chime pointed to the take-up of its Chime Card as a particular catalyst for growth. Regarding the product, the company said, “Among new member cohorts, over half are adopting Chime Card, and those members are putting over 70% of their Chime spend on the product, which earns materially higher take rates compared to debit.”
Today’s Change
(12.88%) $2.72
Current Price
$23.83
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Key Data Points
Market Cap
$7.9B
Day’s Range
$22.30 – $24.63
52wk Range
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$16.17 – $44.94
Volume
562K
Avg Vol
3.3M
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Gross Margin
86.34%
Double-digit growth expected
Chime management proffered revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance for full-year 2026. The company expects to post a top line of $627 million to $637 million, which would represent at least 21% growth over the 2024 result. Adjusted EBITDA should be $380 million to $400 million. No net income forecasts were provided in the earnings release.
It isn’t easy to find a niche in the financial industry, which is crowded with companies offering every imaginable type of service to clients. Yet Chime seems to be achieving that, as the Chime Card is clearly a hit among the company’s target demographic of clientele underserved by mainstream banks. This growth stock is definitely worth considering as a buy.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Student athletes are now earning real money thanks to name, image, likeness deals — but with that opportunity comes the need for financial preparation.
Noah Collins Howard and Dayshawn Preston are two high school juniors with Division I offers on the table. Both are chasing their dreams on the field, and both are navigating something brand new off of it — their finances.
“When it comes to NIL, some people just want the money, and they just spend it immediately. Well, you’ve got to know how to take care of your money. And again, you need to know how to grow it because you don’t want to just spend it,” said Collins Howard.
What You Need To Know
High school athletes with Division I prospects are learning to manage NIL money before they even reach college
Glory2Glory Sports Agency and Advantage Federal Credit Union have partnered to give young athletes access to financial literacy tools and credit-building resources
Financial experts warn that starting money habits early is key to long-term stability for student athletes entering the NIL era
Preston said the experience has already been eye-opening.
“It’s very important. Especially my first time having my own card and bank account — so that’s super exciting,” Preston said.
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For many young athletes, the money comes before the knowledge. That’s where Glory2Glory Sports Agency in Rochester comes in — helping athletes prepare for life outside of sports.
“College sports is now pro sports. These kids are going from one extreme to the other financially, and it’s important for them to have the tools necessary to navigate that massive shift,” said Antoine Hyman, CEO of Glory2Glory Sports Agency.
Through their Students for Change program, athletes get access to student checking accounts, financial literacy courses and credit-building tools — all through a partnership with Advantage Federal Credit Union.
“It’s never too early to start. We have youth accounts, student checking accounts — they were all designed specifically for students and the youth,” said Diane Miller, VP of marketing and PR at Advantage Federal Credit Union.
The goal goes beyond what’s in their pocket today. It’s about building habits that will protect them for life.
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“If you don’t start young, you’re always catching up. The younger you start them, the better off they’re going to be on that financial path,” added Nihada Donohew, executive vice president of Advantage Federal Credit Union.
For these athletes, having the right support system makes all the difference.
“It’s really great to have a support system around you. Help you get local deals with the local shops,” Preston added.
Collins-Howard said the program has given him a broader perspective beyond just the game.
“It gives me a better understanding of how to take care of myself and prepare myself for the future of giving back to the community,” Collins-Howard said.
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“These high school kids need someone to legitimately advocate their skills, their character and help them pick the right space. Everything has changed now,” Hyman added.
NIL opened the door. Programs like this one make sure these athletes walk through it — with a plan.
