By RITA KUEBER
In August, the state’s real estate rules were tweaked as the result of a Federal lawsuit, ostensibly to protect sellers and buyers. (See sidebar). Whether these new rules hamper or improve the market overall remains to be seen, so new are these changes. For experienced real estate agents, business continues as usual with a bit more paperwork, and maybe some additional conversations about commissions and client rights and responsibilities. Currents touched base with three veteran agents to gain insight into home sales upcoming in late 2024, and beyond, into early 2025. Besides changes in the industry, interest rates and inventory are top of mind.
“Historically August is the end of the summer doldrums, and we pick up again in September,” says Sharon Friedman, Broker Associate at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Professional Realty. “This is always a slow time of year, but still there are always opportunities in the market,” she adds.
“The market, like the whole world right now, is a little tentative. There’s some apprehension out there,” says Adam Kaufman of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. “In the economy right now we have a strong stock market, which helps, and barring any disasters we should have a strong fourth quarter and an extremely strong first quarter,” he states.
“There’s always a seasonal slow-down late in the year. We anticipate it, and it always happens,” says Karen Eagle of the Karen Eagle Group of Elite Sotheby’s International Realty. “Simultaneously, buyers are still out there trying to buy, but as it’s been for the last two years, there’s not enough inventory.”
“If interest rates come down a full percent into the fives, there’s going to be a flood of people wanting to buy,” Kaufman says. “I don’t know what the Fed is going to do, but in anticipation of the election, should we get lower rates, it’s going to create a huge demand.”
“People are waiting for interest rates to drop, and historically that makes house prices go up. The luxury market is doing well. Chagrin is a hot market, where prices have exceeded expectations – the ability to walk to the Village has great appeal,” Friedman says. She also mentions strong recent sales in Strongsville, in Cleveland condos, and her main market, the Beachwood/Orange/Pepper Pike corridor. “People come in from other states, and even here, you never know where people will find what they want.”
All three agents agree that lower interest rates would be good for the real estate industry. “I don’t think we’ll get down to the twos and threes, where we were when some homeowners bought years ago,” Eagle says. “But an interest rate in the fives would give lots of buyers more buying power and more confidence. There’s still a lot of pent-up demand. There are owners who say, ‘I’d love to move, but where would we go?’ We haven’t been able to solve that piece of the puzzle,” Eagle says. “For people who want to downsize, they may want to consider two houses – a smaller one here and a house in a different climate.”
Moving on to how recent rulings are changing the market, again these three experienced agents agree – communication is key, and working with a knowledgeable professional will make the selling/buying process as smooth as possible. “I think these changes have been blown out of proportion in terms of impact,” Kaufman says. “Twenty years ago there were changes to Agency, and at first everyone yelled about it, then everyone got it, and we moved on.
“The idea that buyers should participate in the commission, well technically, the buyer has always participated in the commission, it was just deducted off the dollars the buyer was offering,” he adds. It’s a lot more paperwork for realtors, but buyers want to buy, and sellers want to sell. Don’t rely on the media for this. Ask me. Ask your realtor until you understand it. Really, we should be called facilitators – we facilitate the process and that will continue to happen.”
“Many people I talk with know about these changes and I try to be proactive by bringing it up in a casual discussion,” Friedman adds. These new rules have been in place in other markets, especially commercial markets. They’re aware, although there’s been some inaccurate reporting on these changes. I just encourage people to ask me about it.”
“A house sale is so much more than a transaction,” Eagle states. “There are hours of inspections. There are appraisal issues, lender issues – quick and easy is not the norm. Sometimes a sale takes so many hours, we’ve literally worked for minimum wage. Yet sometimes people don’t think we have value! We have special industry knowledge – in-depth insights into everything from point of sale to septic systems. Most people don’t have any idea of the rules and how to reach an agreement regarding who’s responsible for what – there are a lot of layers,” she states.
“We take this seriously and we advocate for our buyers and sellers. It’s not easy. I’m not hanging out at the pool all day,” Eagle adds. She suspects the faux-glamorous image of realtors comes from the multiple “reality” television programs in which the average house sells for a price miles above the average for most communities. On TV the house sales are big, and seemingly the commissions bigger, without showing the behind-the-scenes work and without the explanation that most often the agents’ money is split among at least two brokers and at least two, sometimes four or more agents.
And once more in agreement, despite public perception, changes and some frustrations, all three agents love what they do. “I love it. I just love it,” Friedman says. ‘I love the people I work with – not just my company – but the other agents throughout the region. We’re very fortunate here.”

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What the NAR settlement means to home buyers:

Very simply put, the National Association of Realtors (a nonprofit, non-governing organization) was sued in Federal Court with prosecutors stating that homeowners were unaware a portion of the commission they were giving to their agents was shared with the buyer’s agent. Claims included this unnaturally inflated the sale price of a house. States including Ohio scrambled to change the laws that do govern licensed agents to reflect changes moving forward. These include:
Buyers must sign an agreement with an agent before touring a house. This includes seeing a house in person or virtually. An agreement is not needed to discuss an agent’s services or to attend an Open House.
Before signing an agreement, buyers should be sure it accurately reflects the terms discussed with the agent and there’s a clear understanding of the value and services being offered, as well as any costs involved.
Buyers may accept concessions from the seller, such as covering closing costs.
A seller can provide compensation to the buyer’s agent but cannot disclose this information on the professional platform, the Multiple Listing Service.