A recent lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors has kept Max Besbris busy. He’s been quoted in The New York Times article Powerful Realtor Group Agrees to Slash Commissions to Settle Lawsuits:
“This will be a really fundamental shift in how Americans buy, search for, and purchase and sell their housing. It will absolutely transform the real estate industry,” said Max Besbris, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of “Upsold,” a book exploring the link between housing prices and the real estate business. “It will prompt one of the biggest transformations to the housing market since New Deal-era regulations were put in place.”
CBS News interviewed Max in a story called Home buying might be cheaper for millions soon as realtor association settles lawsuits.
“I think it’s probably buyers who are really going to benefit here. We’ve seen a ton of people locked out of the housing market in the past few years just because prices have been so high…I think in the short term, there’s not going to be some massive changes, there’s not going to be drops in housing prices tomorrow or next week.”
Max also published an op-ed in CNN’s opinion section titled, How to make sure the 6% home commission really does die.
“The purchase of a home is a massive financial and emotional decision, and buyers have been, for the most part, happy to rely on agents’ advice. For now, many consumers will likely not know that agents’ fees are negotiable, and they will continue to think that their agents’ recommendations are their only options.”