New Real Estate Regulations in Massachusetts Shrink Homebuyers' Negotiating Power

A new state law will make it harder to waive inspections.

Both buyers and sellers in one of the country's most competitive real estate markets could soon have less negotiating power. 

In 2024, Gov. Maura Healey signed the Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act. The sprawling legislation included a measure requiring realtors to let potential buyers have a home inspection before purchasing a house. 

Buyers can still choose to waive an inspection as "long as the decision is not influenced by the seller or their agent," according to a press release put out by Healey's office. It adds that the law, which goes into effect on October 15, will also require "a separate written disclosure informing buyers that acceptance of their offer is not contingent upon the waiver of a home inspection and that the buyer may choose to have the home inspected."

The Greater Boston Real Estate Board has pushed back against the bill, accusing it of having "vague and overreaching liability provisions." The board has also questioned whether the state has enough inspectors to meet expected future demand. 

But the biggest problem with the new law is that it would block buyers and sellers from using a common property negotiation strategy: waiving or limiting home inspections to get a better deal. In the words of Adrian Moore—vice president of policy at Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this website—the bill's proponents "are saying it's bad for people to bargain and negotiate when they're buying and selling homes, which is insane." 

"There's no reason why home inspections shouldn't be one of the bargaining chips. I don't know what problem they're actually trying to solve," Moore adds. "The only people that benefit from this are the home inspectors. Now one of their members gets hired for every single transaction." 

Sure enough, members of the New England Chapter of the American Society for Home Inspectors lobbied the legislator responsible for this part of the Affordable Homes Act. The inspectors "approached me with concerns that home buyers felt pressure to sacrifice their home inspection, and we talked about the liability that someone could incur by not having the home inspection," state Sen. Michael Moore (D–Worcester) told Boston.com. 

In fact, Moore—Adrian, not Michael—says the bill "takes away an option people used to have, forcing them all to choose what father knows best." He notes that virtually any business can credibly argue that its services make consumers safer. And while individuals sometimes make poor choices, the mistakes of a few shouldn't take away the rights of many.