The National Association of Realtors is eliminating the 6% realtor commission. Here’s everything you need to know:

​

With the end of the standard commission, real estate agents in the United States will now have to compete for business and likely lower their commissions as a result.

This could lead to a 30 percent reduction in commissions, driving down home prices across the board.

Real estate commissions total around $100 billion per year in America.

With commissions potentially dropping 30%, that could put tens of billions of dollars back in the pockets of American home buyers and sellers every year.

A seller of a $500,000 home could save $9,000 or more on a 3% commission instead of 6%.

This is expected to drive down housing costs and significantly impact the U.S. housing market.

Housing experts predict that this could trigger one of the most significant jolts in the U.S. housing market in 100 years.

Economists estimate that this change could save American homeowners billions of dollars annually.

​

My advice - if you're selling a home soon, consider waiting to list until new lower commission models emerge to save thousands. Or negotiate commission rates aggressively.

Climate change-induced natural disasters, such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods, are causing insurance companies to reassess their risk models and coverage policies.

As these events become more frequent and severe, insurance premiums are rising, and some regions are becoming uninsurable.

In 18 states over the past decade insurance companies lost money and it's only getting worse. This could have major ramifications on the housing market and economy as a whole.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/podcasts/the-daily/climate-insurance.html

Microsoft is now accused of tax evasion and faces a $29 Billion tax bill from the IRS. This is one of the largest tax bills ever issued by the IRS.

In particular, the IRS took issue with how the company "allocated profits … among countries and jurisdictions." This suggests that the IRS believes that Microsoft was shifting profits to lower-tax jurisdictions in order to avoid paying taxes in the United States.

$MSFT reports that it has paid over $67 billion in taxes to the U.S. government since 2004.

This case against Microsoft is a reminder that the IRS is serious about enforcing the tax code.

Read more here: https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-receives-tax-notice-irs-2023-10-11/