Barbara Corcoran founded her real estate company, The Corcoran Group, in 1980. Over the next two decades, she grew her business into one of the largest brokerage firms in Manhattan before selling it for $66 million in 2001.
In an interview with Entrepreneur, Corcoran weighed in on the National Association of Realtors (NAR) ruling, a landmark case that affects real estate agent fees. It eliminates the 5% or 6% commission that sellers had traditionally paid, so a seller is no longer expected to pay a set commission rate. It took effect in August and has been called one of the biggest changes to the real estate industry.
Related: Barbara Corcoran Says This Is the One Question to Ask Before Selling Your Home
And while Corcoran stated earlier this year that it’s a “scary time” for real estate agents who will need to adapt to the change. Now she says that it’s ultimately “not a big deal.”
“All it changes is the way commissions are paid,” she said. “You can no longer expect a seller to pay the commission.”
Barbara Corcoran. Photo by JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images
Corcoran, who now makes about $4.5 million a year from her investments, explained that the burden may fall to buyers to negotiate a commission fee.
“Most buyers that I have spoken with don’t like the idea of having to negotiate the fee that they have to pay,” Corcoran said. “But actually what happens in the end, so far, is most sellers are paying anyway. They say, cut the fee because then it’ll bring the customers in.”
“It hasn’t really made much of a difference in my opinion,” she added.
Related: Barbara Corcoran Needed to Make Job Cuts. Here’s Why She Fired Her Mom First.
Almost 90% of homes in the U.S. are bought and sold through NAR-associated real estate agents.
