Real estate
BY COLBY FARR & CARSON WEAVER
Home Edition
2024
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Home Edition! This guide features news ranging from key real estate trends in the Heights-River Oaks- Montrose area to the slowing down of property value growth in Harris County. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news—show them your gratitude by supporting local businesses. Our cover story this month takes a look at the debut of coliving and cohousing concepts in Houston. Reporter Cassandra Jenkins breaks down what coliving is and how it’s di erent from traditional apartment design while speaking with experts about how the new concept ts into Houston’s existing real estate landscape.
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What's inside
Trends in the local home market (Page 8)
Property value growth slows in Harris County (Page 9)
Coliving concepts open in Houston (Page 10)
Multiple Listing Service rules changing
Stay tuned
After the policy changes take e ect, a nal approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for later in November. “Houston is going to be a ected like everyone else because it’s a national settlement,” Mouton said. “We’re no di erent than any other state.”
A $418 million settlement with the National Association of Realtors in March may impact fees for buyers, sellers and real estate agents, starting in August. The settlement—brought on by class-action lawsuits alleging brokerages in ated buyer- seller commissions—will force the NAR to make policy changes to Multiple Listing Services, online platforms where real estate agents list homes. According to the settlement, sellers will pay smaller commissions and buyers will decide how much their agents are paid, among other changes. “When an agent searches for a home for their client, [the MLS tells] you what the listing agent is actually o ering for compensation,” said Thomas Mouton, chair of the Houston Association of Realtors. “Now, that will not be displayed anywhere on the site.”
Updated MLS policies The changes outlined by the NAR settlement in March that go into e ect in August include:
Compensation disclosures to sellers, and prospective sellers and buyers, are required. MLS participants can’t lter or restrict listings to clients based on the level of compensation o ered to the agent. Listing agents can no longer make compensation o ers to buyer agents on the MLS.
2024
March 15: Settlement agreement signed
April 24: Preliminary approval of settlement review granted by the court Aug. 17: Practice changes take e ect; earliest day for lawsuit noti cations to be issued to those impacted
MLS users must enter an agreement with buyers before home tours.
Nov. 26: Final approval hearing for the settlement
SOURCE: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS COMMUNITY IMPACT
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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION
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