The real estate industry changed forever last Saturday when the terms of a class action suit settlement began to redefine how the business of buying and selling of homes in the U.S. will be conducted from now on. In the short term, there will be winners and losers; sellers will benefit with a lower commission rate and buyers will pay for real estate services that have been free to them for decades. Real estate agents, especially on the buy side, will need to acquire and hone new skills to survive. Even online real estate giants like Redfin and Zillow will see changes to their businesses, some good, some not so good. While some realities about the “new” industry are not clear yet, the way sales will be conducted and marketing activities will change significantly, despite the contentions of some traditional real estate professionals that there is “nothing to see here.”

I am devoting the combined August/September issue of my newsletter, Home On The Course (subscribe here for free), to the new real estate landscape, with an overview of the implications for buyers, sellers, agents and their brokerages; and for the National Association of Realtors, whose lack of transparency and lack of sensitivity to customer needs led the organization to the courtroom and a $1.8 billion judgment, whittled down in the settlement to $418 million. That amounts to about $400 per member of the trade association, about the equivalent of each member’s annual dues. I am a real estate agent but never signed up to pay dues to the NAR. I have been skeptical of their public communications, which included pumping sunshine into the housing market right up until the moment the recession of 2008 began. On Saturday, I read a wonderful story on the website Reddit written by a buyer’s agent. It highlights an inherent dilemma real estate agents face in working with clients: Do they respond to the client’s needs, even if that could cost them a commission, or do they just find them a house even if that is not the wisest course in the short term? I have lightly edited the story:

More than a month ago, I met with a couple whose child is a junior in high school. They were thinking about buying a home in the town where they lived. It was a requirement for them that they stay in the same school district. They were completely new to the process, hadn't bought a home before, and weren't sure of the process. I explained the steps and how the whole transaction would work. Then they asked me, “What do you think we should do in our situation?”

Every bit of my marketing and sales training told me to hold their hands and push them to buy a house ASAP. I’m a real estate agent, and the practiced response of an agent would typically be, “I can find you the best house on the market, and we'll get you the best deal we can right now. Let me send you some listings; trust me, I'll be there for you." Of course, that is the standard answer: Drive them to the market and help them shop. The side that I ended up choosing was this: I talked to them about amortization rate, interest rates, market conditions -- all slanted towards them waiting a year to buy a home. Right now, I told them, prices are still high from Covid times and mortgage rates are still high, and they may or may not go further up in the future based on treasury yields. However, the main issue, I told them, is that your child is in his last year of high school, and you are extremely limited in your choices now, given your budget. In one year, when your child goes to college, I suggested they will have more options to pick from because they will no longer be tied to that very specific high school zone. There's a chance that prices come down and that they will have even better choices.

I ended up talking to them about how they should think through the process, adding caveats such as "there could be unpredictable world events that can change the outlook…"They decided to wait to buy.That is the problem for our industry. If I offer what I think is a good, well-intentioned piece of advice, as I believe I should as a buyer's agent, I hurt my own pocket in the short term. Monetarily, it serves me better to push them towards a house even when I don't think it's the best idea. I think that's the conflict in the industry that needs to be resolved so that buyers receive the best possible representation.

Deferred compensation…in the best sense of the term.

Vermont is a great place to visit -- and to play golf -- in the summer and fall.  A few years ago, while visiting my daughter and her family in late summer and autumn, I played 10 golf courses in northern Vermont and across Lake Champlain in upstate New York. I provided reviews for most of them in my newsletter, Home On The Course, and elsewhere here at GolfCommunityReviews. In a nutshell, the following is what I thought of each of them, with ratings on a 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being “Wonderful,” 4 “Very Good” 3 “Okay” and 2 “Fair.” None I played merited a “poor” score.

Jay Peak, beautiful and occasionally scary

Jay Peak, North Troy, VT.  Rating 4.5
I wouldn’t recommend the Jay Peak golf course to a 20-handicap player, but for those with the ability to hit the ball straight, to chip and putt well and secure (mature?) enough to move up two tee boxes from their customary launching pad, the layout provides gorgeous views and excellent conditions. For the quality of the layout, the $65 I paid (now $74 in 2024), cart included, was an extreme bargain. Better yet, if you decide to make Vermont your permanent or summer home, a membership at the semi-private resort course will pay for itself in about 30 rounds. 

Green Mountain Golf Club, Killington, VT.  Rating 4
I love to start off a round with a par 5. Using driver, fairway wood and (hopefully) short iron to the first green is a great way to kickstart 18 holes. Green Mountain’s starting hole is a par 5 of modest length with a generously wide fairway. From the tips (black tees) it is “only” 513 yards, just 443 yards from the tee boxes I played (total lengthfor my layout was 5,787 yards). When you play Green Mountains, pay attention to the beautiful scenery – and the scorecard’s advice about which tees to play.

The turf on the Williston golf course is well cared for by the owners.

Williston Country Club, Williston, VT.  Rating 4
There was a lot of work being done on the Williston layout, including a brand-new 18th green and tee-box updates. All that should be done by now.  The course was in excellent condition and the holes varied and challenging. Williston is a 90-year-old layout owned by one family since the beginning, and the latest whippersnappers running it – two brothers -- clearly want to keep it one of the most popular layouts in the Burlington area. They are doing a good job of it.

If you squint, you'll see the flag on the green down by the lake at Bluff Point.

Bluff Point, Plattsburgh, NY.  Rating 3.5
Bluff Point has history, and that was the source of a little of my disappointment. If I hadn’t read about the place before I arrived there, it would almost certainly warrant a slightly higher rating. But when you advertise a circa 1916 A. W. Tillinghast design, he of Bethpage Black and Winged Foot fame, you set up major expectations for those of us who have been lucky enough to play one of his layouts and know his reputation. Some of Tillinghast’s holes at Bluff Point had been replaced (to build a parking lot, no less) and, over the years, his signature bunkers had pulled well away from his equally distinctive greens, and everything felt flatter than the architect must have intended. But playing a course that had been beloved of U.S. Presidents – McKinley, both Roosevelts – neutralized the disappointment, even if it wasn’t exactly the course they had played.

The Kwiniaska Country Club golf course, aka "Kwini," is kwirky and fun.

Kwiniaska Golf Club, Shelburne, VT.  Rating 3.5
“Kwini,” as the locals call it, is a bit of a hodgepodge layout, and with good reason. Some holes that once played across the road from the rest were sold to a home developer and squeezed into an area with the rest of the 18. The latest owner is clearly serious about keeping Kwini a popular alternative for the locals. The course was in fine condition, some of the holes – especially those shaped by P.B. Dye – were visually interesting, but you are always just a bit conscious about a bit of dissonance among the holes. Approach the course as 18 separate holes, and you will have an interesting day of it. And the staff could not be friendlier.

Alburg Links are rough and ready for anyone who loves a classic layout.

Who doesn't love a downhill short par 3, like #7 at the classic Champlain Country Club?

Others:  Alburg Golf Links, Alburgh, VT…Rating 3.5. North Country, Rouses Point, NY…2.5. West Bolton Country Club, West Bolton, VT…4. Champlain Golf Club, Swanton, VT…3.5. Fox Run (formerly Okemo Valley), Okemo, VT…4