Housing market: Jason Oppenheim warns of an 'armageddon' in the real estate industry

Prediction  

There's hope for a settlement with regulators or an appeal process, but there's a high likelihood the marketplace for real estate agents is about to get majorly overhauled, said Oppenheim. He added that we could see the U.S. ultimately turn towards a model with lower total commissions, as is the case in Australia.

"I think there are too many real estate agents anyway, so I don't think that's part of the problem," he said. "I think the problem is that if we remove the buyer's agent's commission, you'll see the listing agent representing the buyer in 90% of transactions. It's called dual agency," said Oppenheim. "I don't think that's healthy for the consumer, because I think that the buyer should have their own representation. It would be no different than going into a courtroom and you have one lawyer, representing both sides."

This could create a situation where the agent would have a fiduciary duty to one side, the seller, Oppenheim added.