Many Buyer’s Agents offer “Rebates” to their clients. How does this rule change affect that?

Additional options have been added to Form 41C to enable the buyer brokerage firm to reduce its compensation and have seller credit the amount of the reduction to the buyer's obligations at closing.  Note that such credit is subject to approval by the buyer's lender.  Another new option in the form is a simple reduction in the buyer broker compensation paid to the firm.  This option could be used in situations where a buyer and buyer's broker agreed to a lesser amount of compensation in a buyer representation agreement or a reduction to make the buyer's offer more competitive.  There is also an "other" box that the parties may use to agree on different compensation terms.

Letting brokerage websites publish the commission that a homeowner is offering the buyer’s agent will show everyone all the incentives at work in a home sale and make it easy for agents to explain the costs of our services.

And being explicit that a listing can offer buyers’ agents any commission or now even no commission will assure consumers and agents alike that Seattle’s real estate market is wide open for competition.

Therefore, the public will be able to see in advance what percentage of commission is being paid on any home.