I am over-the-moon excited for the two houses we plan to stage this week, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. The first is a Fully Remodeled Classic Santa Barbara Single Story Spanish in Miracle Mile with a show stopping living room that has a pitched beamed ceiling and Batchelder tile fireplace, a brand new Emerald Green kitchen, new designer landscaped yards both in front and back, and a garage that’s the best flex space. The second is a Magical Architecturally Significant Designer English Hancock Park Character Home in impeccable condition + taste with a truly special backyard + ADU. It’s always an honor to represent amazing houses owned by cool people, and I’m super excited for the big debut of each home!
We closed on the sale at 1131 S Ridgeley this week, which makes for our third closed sale with the lovely sellers! One of the sellers works online, at home, on telehealth platforms. I loved that during open house days, my own backhouse turned into the seller’s telehealth office for the day. It’s always a treat to work with sellers who are absolutely immaculate. Even though there’s a whole family who lives at this house, you would think it was vacant and staged from how pristine these owners live. I’m so excited for the sellers’ next chapter in their new home!!!
We closed on the condo at 308 N Sycamore #108 this week! I loved working with the sellers, and also that the sellers were referred by two other sellers who we absolutely loved to represent! Thomas’ letter post close hit the spot. My favorite line was “Thank you, and your entire team, for your partnership and exceptional service throughout this entire process — and for going the extra mile, so many times!” It was a pleasure to represent this beautiful property and the beautiful stewards with true pride of ownership of it.
So many people have been asking me to comment on the NAR settlement in the class action commission lawsuits. If the court accepts NAR’s settlement, changes will take place mid July. NAR proposed that buyer side commissions will no longer be advertised on the MLS. Sellers can still pay buyer side commissions. Sellers can still advertise on the MLS an offer to pay buyers’ closing costs. Buyer side expert representation makes for the most effective real estate deals. The cost of expert buyer representation will be factored into the real estate deal, no matter who bears the cost. Every real estate sale is negotiable and deals happen when there’s a meeting of the minds between buyer and seller. Much the same way the final sales price on any home is a factor of every aspect of the sale – the condition, location, necessary upgrades, cosmetic improvements, etc. – commissions will be one more factor that goes into the mix. In truth, like in every other area of life, payment is a conversation and every consumer and agent always has a choice around who they hire and what they pay. None of that will change going forward. In the past, it was structured that the seller paid both seller and buyer side commissions. In the future, either the seller will pay the buyer side commission (the same way they did in the past), or the buyer will pay and request a seller credit or a reduction in the purchase price, taking into account all the costs and fees associated with the sale. Court rulings and settlements won’t make buyers automatically pay more for houses. Court rulings and settlements won’t make expert buyer representation go away or go down in price. Companies like Purple Bricks, (a discount brokerage) opened up shop to much fanfare only to shut down entirely; we never saw Purple Bricks (or other similar discount brokerages) in our neighborhood. There was hype at some time about house sales happening online, without agents, through Amazon or Zillow but that never happened (because it doesn’t work). In all areas of life, consumers pay for valued services, and the price consumers pay is what that service is worth. As long as expert effective real estate agents provide value commensurate with their fee, they will continue to be paid what they’re worth, and the commissions will be a part of the real estate sale between the buyer and seller, negotiated like every other term in the transaction. In summary, even though it may take some navigating to comply with new MLS advertising and compliance rules, nothing substantive is likely to change in real estate agent commissions moving forward.
I’m blown away with gratitude for my alma mater and my daughter Esti’s school, Bais Yaakov Los Angeles, for the extraordinary amount of energy + effort + devotion + expertise expended to make their biennial high school musical production, Reeds of Resilience, at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, over-the-top remarkable! It was amazing to see so much talent, collaboration, and joint achievement! Each time the lights went on, there was an audible gasp of awe from the 1900 people in the audience at the colorful + artistic + perfectly tailored + creative + accessorized costumes, breathtaking digital scenery, clever props, character placement, and flawless + talented execution of the storyline! I especially appreciated that Chassi, my daughter-in-law, flew in for the show and we oohed and aahed through the night together! I loved that Esti’s character in the show was the loving, encouraging peacemaker who inspired others with upbeat energy and a smile! I loved sitting in the audience surrounded by, and right next to, so many of my favorite people, as we all enjoyed watching our own and each others’ kids participate in the experience of a lifetime! The sense of community around a collaborative masterpiece was awe inspiring! How lucky for our kids to live in Los Angeles and to be students at BYLA! Long post graduation, the memories of so much practice, hard work, effort, and ultimately resounding success will stay with these kids for a lifetime!!!
Wishing all an awesome week ahead!
Xoxoxoxo,
Sheri
