Photo by Tierra Mallorca on unsplash.com

Nearly 1 in 4 Americans plan to sell their home in the next year without a Realtor.

That’s just one of the results of a survey of 1,000 Americans conducted for online bonding service provider Lance Surety Bond.

The survey specifically captures consumer perceptions of the recent $418 million legal settlement agreed to by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) that would change the way commissions are currently negotiated for homebuyers’ real estate agents.

The settlement could end billion-dollar litigation alleging NAR conspired to inflate broker commission as soon as this summer.

Industry analysts believe the settlement could reduce agent commissions up to 30% over time and cull the number of agents in the market.

The biggest shift is how buyers and sellers perform transactions via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) — a market’s database of available properties. Sellers are no longer obligated via the MLS system to pay a buyer’s brokerage fees. Homebuyers could potentially negotiate for lower-priced representation — but they could also be on the hook for those costs.

That doesn’t bode well for people new to the market, according to one local real estate leader.

“Our primary concern is the impact the verdict and settlement could have on buyers who are already struggling with the financial challenges of purchasing property — especially first-time home buyers and those in disadvantaged areas,” said Desrie van Putten, president of Guarantee Real Estate in Fresno.

According to the survey, 70% of respondents felt the settlement was a positive development for homebuyers. When it came to the home seller perspective, 67% viewed it as positive.

The results also found nearly 30% of Americans plan to purchase a home within the next year after hearing about the NAR settlement. And 50% of first-time homebuyers are more likely to buy a home after learning about the settlement.

Just over 10% of Americans plan to sell their homes within the next year following the NAR settlement, with an average listing price of $400,000.

The study also found that 3 in 4 Americans support restricting corporations from buying residential homes.