Barbara Corcoran Just Handed Real Estate A Chill Pill: The Download

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Each week on The Download, Inman’s Christy Murdock takes a deeper look at the top-read stories of the week to give you what you’ll need to meet Monday head-on. This week: Real estate maven Barbara Corcoran tells the industry to calm down following the furor over NAR’s commission lawsuit settlement.

Any time of upheaval is interesting and instructive because it offers an opportunity to see how people respond in a crisis. While some look for the exits, others take center stage to share their freak-out with anyone who’ll listen.

Some, however, pride themselves on keeping their heads while all around are losing theirs (ref: Rudyard Kipling). In fact, they may float a contrary position, then sit back and watch the fireworks.

Last week, Barbara Corcoran weighed in on the NAR settlement, saying, in so many words, “I don’t think the ruling is a big deal, honestly.”

The founder of The Corcoran Group and star of ABC’s Shark Tank told Yahoo! Finance last week that, although she believes the National Association of Realtors’ recent $418 million settlement of commission lawsuits will cause less disruption in the industry than may be expected, it has resulted in “total confusion” for industry professionals and consumers alike.

Because there is an incentive for sellers to attract buyers, Corcoran believes sellers will try to “make good” with buyers by covering things like closing costs, in order to “even the score out.” Thus, she doesn’t see the ruling as changing things all that much.

Besides weighing in on the settlement and the still-unanswered questions it has engendered, Corcoran characterized sellers as “greedy” and predicted a continuation of low inventory woes.

Meanwhile, her advice for frustrated buyers? Buyer love notes.

“I’ve done this my whole life,” Corcoran revealed. “Run into a community, see which houses you like, and write love notes on every door.”

With the last four houses Corcoran has purchased, she said she used this tactic when the homes she was interested in weren’t even on the market — and it worked.

Whether you agree with Corcoran — or passionately disagree — lawsuits, settlements and upcoming changes were on the minds of just about everyone over the past week. The trick is figuring out what to do next so that you, too, can enjoy the chillaxitude she embraces. Fortunately, Inman’s Service desk had plenty of ideas.

Will uncertainty drive agents out? Maybe — but don’t let it be you

After the National Association of Realtors’ proposed settlement, Coldwell Banker Realty president and CEO Kamini Lane offers three tips for agents amid commission compression chaos.

How great agents win in the face of NAR settlement misinformation

Consumer misconceptions post-settlement are wild. Jimmy Burgess talks to Keeping Current Matters CEO David Childers on how to communicate with today’s buyers and sellers.

10 reasons to embrace the shift to a seller-focused business

If agents want to beat out their local competition, writes trainer and leadership expert Jeff Glover, they need to start focusing on owning the listing inventory in their markets.

It’s up to you to make lemonade out of a sour NAR settlement situation

Consumers have been given a front-row seat to the chaos unfolding in our industry, Rachael Hite writes. As the situation unravels, who will make lemonade, and who will feast on sour grapes?