August 2024 Reality Check

Why selling a home felt harder and what changed fast

August 2024 was one of the most difficult months I had experienced in the previous five years. In my area, August was already known as a tough month for real estate, but that year difficult felt like an understatement.

The market had clearly shifted. Buyer demand was different. The way Realtors conducted business had changed quickly. There was a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt, and the market had responded with a noticeable slowdown. That did not automatically mean a crash or a nose dive, but it did mean selling and buying felt harder than it had in years.

On August 25, 2024, I shared what I was seeing on the ground after holding multiple open houses. The goal was to help sellers and buyers understand what they were walking into if they planned to move in the near future.

The biggest industry change

Buyer agent commission was no longer posted in MLS

One of the biggest changes in 2024 was that buyer agent commission was no longer posted in MLS. That meant buyer agent compensation was not displayed the way it had been in previous years, and that change affected how conversations started and how offers were discussed.

The second biggest change

Buyers had to sign a compensation agreement before showings

Another major shift was that buyers had been required to sign an agreement with their buyer agent regarding compensation before a buyer agent could show them a property.

In practice, it meant a buyer agent could not legally show a home unless there was a compensation agreement in writing first. It was not limited to California. It applied across the country.

Some buyers adjusted easily. Others hesitated, especially early on, because they felt like they were being asked to sign something before fully understanding how it worked. Many agents were also learning the process in real time, which added to the clunky feeling in the market.

What sellers needed to understand

The listing agreement did not lock in buyer agent compensation

Sellers still signed a listing agreement to set the listing agent compensation. But buyer agent compensation was not something the seller agreed to upfront in that listing agreement.

Instead, the buyer agent compensation request typically appeared inside the purchase offer package. The buyer submitted an offer and included a request asking the seller to pay a certain amount toward the buyer agent compensation.

A seller could say no. The seller was not required to pay it. But in a slowing market, many sellers found it helpful to stay open and evaluate offers based on the full net outcome rather than reacting emotionally to the compensation request.

The question that came up constantly

Is the seller cooperating with buyer agent compensation

After these changes took effect, many showing requests began with the same question.

Is the seller cooperating with buyer agent compensation

Agents often asked this before even discussing the showing time. They were trying to confirm whether they would be compensated for representing their buyer.

A common response was that the seller was open to all offers, because the most practical way to evaluate the request was to see the full offer terms and run the net sheet.

A real example from an active listing at the time

Two offers came in on one listing

Offer one

Price was 2 million

All cash

Close in 7 days

Buyer agent compensation request was 2 percent

Offer two

Price was 2.2 million

Loan

Close in 30 days

Buyer agent compensation request was 2.5 percent

The seller chose offer two, even with the higher buyer agent compensation request, because the seller net profit was meaningfully higher.

That example highlighted the point many sellers needed to hear in 2024

It mattered more what the seller netted than what the seller felt about the commission request.

Why open houses increased

Buyers tried to avoid signing early agreements

There had been a noticeable increase in open houses in many markets. One reason was that some buyers did not want to sign a buyer broker agreement early in the process. They wanted to look first, understand the market, and only commit once they found a home they actually wanted.

So buyers often chose to visit open houses directly. Listing agents leaned into open houses more heavily to keep buyer traffic flowing, especially when the traditional showing process had started to feel more complicated.

What worked for sellers

Being open, but not desperate

In many cases, it helped sellers to be open to open houses, but not overdo it.

Doing open houses constantly could make a listing look desperate.

Refusing open houses completely could reduce visibility in a market that was already moving slower.

Another reality in 2024

Homes took longer to go under contract

A major frustration in 2024 was that homes often took longer to go under contract than sellers expected. Many sellers still carried expectations from the previous market cycle, when homes went pending quickly. When that did not happen, each day felt long and stressful.

A slower timeline did not automatically mean the home was broken. It often reflected a more cautious buyer pool.

Inventory rose

But not always because more people listed

Inventory rose in many areas, but a key reason was the slower pace of homes going under contract. Listings stacked up because the velocity slowed down.

That created more competition for sellers and gave buyers more choices.

Why one home went pending and another did not

Turnkey attracted buyers

When buyers had options, they often leaned toward turnkey homes. Many buyers in 2024 were not excited about taking on deferred maintenance or immediate large repairs.

So sellers who needed to compete often had to tighten up presentation and maintenance.

One mistake that surfaced was when sellers made repairs and then expected to increase their price accordingly. In that market, repairs were often required just to stay competitive, not necessarily to justify a premium.

Rates created hesitation

Some buyers waited

There was also a lot of noise about rates dropping in the future. Some buyers chose to wait because they believed affordability might improve later. Whether that happened or not, the mindset affected demand in the moment.

That lack of urgency meant sellers had to create momentum through pricing and presentation, not through hope.

The hard truth that mattered most

A home was worth what someone would pay

Many sellers had a number in their head. But the market did not care what a seller needed.

In 2024, a home was worth what a qualified buyer was willing to pay under that specific set of conditions.

Overpricing often led to sitting, going stale, and creating the perception that something was wrong, which could lead to bigger discounts later.

What the market rewarded

Three things helped sellers in 2024

Pricing with reality instead of a fantasy number

Staying open to offers and evaluating the net outcome

Competing through presentation, repairs, and turnkey readiness

The market in 2024 was not hopeless. It was just different. And sellers who accepted that early usually had a smoother experience than sellers who resisted it.