Realtors

The sector at a glance

Real estate brokerage and the business of the transaction: agents, teams and brokerages; listings, pricing and market data; how agents are found, paid and regulated after the 2024 NAR settlements; property management and rentals; residential and commercial investment; and the national portals, iBuyers and proptech platforms competing for the same buyer and seller intent. Primary market is the Austin / Central Texas metro - Lake Travis, Westlake, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, Round Rock, Dripping Springs and Bastrop County - with a secondary Hot Springs, Arkansas layer. New-home construction and builder topics live in the sibling homebuild cluster, not here.

Topic guides

Concepts

MLS

Multiple Listing Service - the broker-run, association-governed database that feeds nearly every listing portal and IDX site.

Buyer-broker agreement

The written contract defining a buyer agent's duties and pay. Since August 2024 an MLS-participating agent must have one signed before touring a home.

Decoupled buyer compensation

Buyer-side pay negotiated directly between buyer and their agent rather than set by the listing side - the core structural change from the NAR settlement.

Offers of compensation off the MLS

Buyer-agent compensation can no longer be advertised in the MLS; it moves to seller concessions, listing-site disclosure or direct negotiation.

Clear Cooperation Policy

The NAR rule requiring a listing be entered in the MLS within one business day of public marketing - the constraint on pocket and office-exclusive listings.

Seller concessions

Seller-paid credits toward the buyer's closing costs, rate buydown or buyer-agent fee - the main workaround now that compensation is off the MLS.

CMA

Comparative Market Analysis - an agent's priced opinion of value built from recent comparable sales, adjusted for condition, lot and time.

Days on Market (DOM)

How long a listing has been active; the single number buyers use to judge negotiating room and sellers use to judge their price.

List-to-sale ratio

Sale price divided by list price across a market or agent's book - the cleanest read on whether homes are selling over, at or under ask.

Absorption rate

The pace at which available inventory sells in a market, usually stated as units per month - the input to months of inventory.

Months of inventory

Active listings divided by monthly sales pace. Under about four months reads as a seller's market, over about six as a buyer's.

Pending vs under contract

MLS statuses that are not interchangeable: 'active under contract' or 'option pending' usually still invites backup offers; 'pending' generally does not.

Option period (Texas)

A Texas-specific paid, negotiated window in which the buyer may terminate for any reason. The option fee is separate from earnest money and is usually non-refundable.

Earnest money

Buyer's good-faith deposit held by the title company and credited at closing; whether it is refundable depends on which contract deadline has passed.

Title commitment

The title company's pre-closing report of what it will insure and the exceptions it will not - liens, easements, restrictions and mineral reservations.

Survey and T-47

The existing survey plus the seller's sworn T-47 residual affidavit that it is unchanged - what lets a Texas buyer avoid paying for a new survey.

HOA resale certificate

The association's disclosure package - dues, assessments, violations, reserves and restrictions - required before a Texas buyer's HOA review period runs out.

Appraisal gap

The shortfall when a lender's appraisal comes in under contract price, and the clause stating how much cash the buyer will bring to cover it.

Escalation clause

An offer term that automatically raises the buyer's price over competing offers up to a stated cap - common in multiple-offer markets, disallowed by some listing agents.

Dual agency vs intermediary (Texas)

Dual agency is prohibited in Texas. A broker representing both sides acts as an intermediary, optionally with separate appointed license holders for each party.

IABS

Information About Brokerage Services - the TREC form a Texas license holder must give at first substantive communication, explaining who represents whom.

Escrow

The neutral holding of funds and documents between contract and closing, and after closing the lender's account for taxes and insurance.

Cap rate

Net operating income divided by price - the yardstick for income property and the fastest way to compare two deals.

NOI

Net Operating Income - gross rental income less vacancy and operating expenses, before debt service, capital expenditure, depreciation and income tax.

GRM

Gross Rent Multiplier - price divided by annual gross rent. A rough screening tool that ignores expenses, useful for a first pass on small residential income property.

Cash-on-cash return

Annual pre-tax cash flow divided by the actual cash invested - what the leveraged investor is really buying, as opposed to the unleveraged cap rate.

DSCR

Debt Service Coverage Ratio - NOI divided by annual debt service. Also names the loan product underwritten on the property's income rather than the borrower's.

1031 exchange

A like-kind exchange letting an investor defer capital-gains tax by rolling proceeds into another investment property, on a 45-day identification and 180-day closing clock.

Triple net (NNN)

A lease in which the tenant pays taxes, insurance and maintenance on top of base rent - the structure behind most single-tenant net-lease investment.

LOI

Letter of Intent - the non-binding term sheet that precedes a commercial purchase or lease and sets price, term and major conditions before legal drafting.

Tenant improvement allowance

Landlord money, usually stated per square foot, toward building out a commercial tenant's space - a negotiated concession that moves effective rent.

CAM

Common Area Maintenance - the shared operating costs a commercial tenant reimburses, billed monthly against an estimate and reconciled annually.

Gross vs net lease

In a gross (full-service) lease the landlord covers operating costs inside the rent; in a net lease the tenant pays some or all of them separately.

STR

Short-term rental - nightly-let property whose value depends on local permitting and occupancy caps as much as on the building.

iBuyer

An instant-offer buyer such as Opendoor that purchases directly for cash at a service fee - the alternative a seller weighs against listing on the open market.

Pocket listing

A property marketed privately rather than through the MLS. Sharply constrained by Clear Cooperation, and still the subject of the loudest fight in brokerage.

Coming Soon

An MLS status advertising a listing before showings begin - a legitimate pre-marketing window with its own timing and cooperation rules.

Geographic farming

An agent systematically working one neighborhood or niche with mail, events and content until they own the mindshare in it.

Sphere of influence (SOI)

The agent's own network of past clients, friends and referral sources - still the cheapest and highest-converting lead source in the business.

IDX

Internet Data Exchange - the feed and display rules that let a brokerage show other brokers' MLS listings on its own site.

MLS syndication

The outbound distribution of listings from the MLS to portals and aggregators, governed by broker opt-in and increasingly contested.

Zillow Flex

Zillow's referral model in which agents pay nothing up front and give a share of commission on closed referrals - the pay-per-close alternative to Premier Agent.

Lead routing

The CRM rules deciding which agent gets an inbound inquiry and how fast - round robin, shark tank or first-to-claim. Speed to lead usually beats agent quality.

ISA

Inside Sales Agent - a dedicated caller who qualifies and sets appointments from raw leads so the listing agent only meets vetted prospects.

Team split and cap

How commission divides between agent, team and brokerage, and the annual cap after which the agent keeps effectively all of it - the core of every recruiting pitch.

Watch

A video primer on Realtors.

▶Best Real Estate Agent Hiring Tips for 2025! Audra Lambert - Lambert Group Homes▶How To Choose A Real Estate Agent When Selling Jack Bosch▶NEVER Say This to Your Real Estate Agent When Buying a Home! Jackie Baker▶📢 Buyer Broker Agreement Explained – What You Need to Know! 🏡 Whissel Beer Group▶NAR Settlement: Buyer Broker Value Presentation for Real Estate Agents Jimmy Burgess▶Buyer Broker Agreement explained! Selling Bay Area▶Understanding the Buyer Broker Agreement - What's in it and How Does it Work? San Luis Obispo Homes▶Understanding the Buyer Agency Agreement #homebuyers #buyingahouse Owen Costello▶Buyers representation agreement explained! Ryan Volpe Real Estate▶What You MUST Know Before Signing a Buyer Broker Agreement Brandy Nichols Realty▶Florida's Exclusive Buyer Broker Agreement - Explained Noble Star Realty▶How Real Estate Commissions Work Now The Real Estate Lawyer▶Why Home Buyers Are Paying Agent Commissions in 2024 Audra Lambert - Lambert Group Homes▶How much commission does a real estate agent keep? Dustin Brohm - Massive Agent▶Role Play: How Realtor Commissions Will Work Now #WeeklyDocketPodcast #NAR #RealEstate #Commision Silberman Law Firm▶How to Hire a Realtor | Questions You MUST Ask Before Choosing an Agent Arizona Real Estate & Lifestyle with Amy Peterson▶What’s a Buyer Broker Agreement? Space Coast Local with Joey Guest▶Here’s how the NEW COMMISSION structure works! Krista Mashore▶New Real Estate Commission Rules Explained Clark Howard: Save More, Spend Less▶How new real estate agent commission rules impact the housing industry CNBC Television▶Breaking Down the New NAR Rule: How Real Estate Commissions Work Now Cornerstone Real Estate Team - REAL▶Steps For BUYING a HOME 🏡 | Millennials, Gen Z And First Time Homebuyers Freddie Smith▶The Ultimate FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS GUIDE - Top Tips And Tricks Win The House You Love▶Deal Breakers When Buying a Home | Ask This Old House This Old House▶8 Things to Do BEFORE Moving In 🔑 | New Home Checklist Hudler Homes of Compass▶10 Things to Check BEFORE Buying a House Ivan Simental