Corey Bishop, pictured nearby, principal at Bishop-West Real Estate, joined us with a briefing on the real estate market, both locally and to our south. While the real estate market in the Berkshires remains solid and prices remain fairly high, home sales have slowed somewhat. Homes are selling when priced at current market value, but people are not pushing offers way over the asking price as they were in the last few years. Bishop tells us the market in Florida where the firm has a sales office, has weakened considerably with prices falling. Bishop believes at least some of the price crash will make it's way to our area in time. Bishop's other main focus was to explain the recent changes in real estate law where fees paid to buyers and sellers are much more negotiable to the point that a buyers agent may not have any percentage of the sale if the seller so choses to go that way. Bishop said this and other changes have "changed the dynamic" of the real estate business. The changes were brought about by a lawsuit that alleged the market in general and the MLS services and others in a way conspired to harm the consumer in the percentage of sale based reward system for agents. In the argument, the charge was that one's own agents would be or could be working against them in price negotiations. Shakey Markets
Corey Bishop, pictured nearby, principal at Bishop-West Real Estate, joined us with a briefing on the real estate market, both locally and to our south. While the real estate market in the Berkshires remains solid and prices remain fairly high, home sales have slowed somewhat. Homes are selling when priced at current market value, but people are not pushing offers way over the asking price as they were in the last few years. Bishop tells us the market in Florida where the firm has a sales office, has weakened considerably with prices falling. Bishop believes at least some of the price crash will make it's way to our area in time. Bishop's other main focus was to explain the recent changes in real estate law where fees paid to buyers and sellers are much more negotiable to the point that a buyers agent may not have any percentage of the sale if the seller so choses to go that way. Bishop said this and other changes have "changed the dynamic" of the real estate business. The changes were brought about by a lawsuit that alleged the market in general and the MLS services and others in a way conspired to harm the consumer in the percentage of sale based reward system for agents. In the argument, the charge was that one's own agents would be or could be working against them in price negotiations.