Real estate’s day of change is here: 3 things to know 

OK, real estate agents: Welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives.

August 17 has arrived, and it's time to embrace a world that includes more buyer agent agreements and fewer offers of compensation.

It's also time to shake off the impulse to figure out a way around the new rules. Remember, it was lawsuits that got the industry into this situation, and lawsuits can magnify the pain if the industry fails to abide by the settlement agreement made by the National Association of Realtors.

Here are three things you need to know:

Buyer agreements are required — but can be flexible

Agents working with a buyer must enter into a written agreement with that buyer before allowing them to tour a home. (Or sooner, if state law requires it.)

But that agreement can vary. Says the NAR FAQ: "The practice changes do not require an agency agreement or dictate any type of relationship." The length of the agreement — days, weeks, months — isn't dictated either.

So what is required?

• A "specific and conspicuous disclosure" of compensation, which needs to be a dollar amount or percentage (including zero) and cannot be exceeded.

• A "conspicuous statement" that fees and commissions are negotiable.

Want to see some examples? Zillow has released a lightweight, non-exclusive touring agreement. So has Redfin. Arizona Realtors said its new forms are "to the point" and protect agents.

Note: This rule does not apply to listing agents because they aren't working with the buyer. Showing a house they are listing is part of the work they are performing for the seller.

Offers of compensation will disappear from the MLS — but aren't going away 

The settlement requires most multiple listings services to remove offers of compensation from their systems as of today. However, sellers can still offer compensation, and sellers' agents can still share those offers. Wait, what?

Offers of compensation can still be shared in a variety of ways: social media, yard signs, agent-to-agent text messages, brokerage websites. Some websites have cropped up to provide commission-sharing information, though experts say that's dicey territory. 

Those offers just need to stay off the MLS. And sure, they could be mowed into a lawn in a picture accompanying the listing or written in code, but agents shouldn't try to be "cute" and instead should "start thinking of a better strategy," Real Brokerage President Sharran Srivatsaa advised — because if other agents can figure out what "three apples" means, lawyers can too. 

Note: Concessions are not the same thing as commissions. Concessions are costs the seller will cover to make the deal more appealing to a buyer — things like closing costs or payment for repairs. Concession money can also be used to pay a buyer agent. However, listing agents need to make sure they don't explicitly require that. Want to see how that plays out in a listing agreement? eXp has invited the industry to use its approach. 

Alex McEwen, founder of McEwen Realtors and associate broker at Selling Utah, says "we've advised that it would be wise for sellers to continue to be open to covering some or all of the buyer's costs, because the last thing you want to do when you are selling something is to make it complicated for someone to buy it or to limit the number of people who can buy it."

But it is complicated from an industry perspective — to the point that the nation's largest MLS decided to remove a newly launched "Concessions in Price" field from its systems "to avoid confusion between all parties," a rep for CRMLS said.

We're going to get through this

Yes, today marks a historic day of change, but the real estate industry is resilient — and so are real estate professionals.

"Consumers might not realize how hard agents work to earn a living," said Jen Routon, Denver Metro Associations of Realtors president. Some agents may choose to leave, but "I believe real estate will continue to be a desirable career. The industry will evolve, and those who remain will grow and improve, ultimately benefiting consumers."

It's a difficult time, said Denée M. Evans, the CEO of the Council of Multiple Listing Services. "Brokers have had to turn on a dime, and so have MLSs," she acknowledged. "Some people are angry."

But "the task now at hand is adaptation," she emphasized.

"This is a call for patience," Evans said. "Let's remember that we are in this together. We will move through and beyond the changes upon us and be better for doing so."