What NAR’s $418M Settlement Signifies for Buyers, Sellers, and Agents
The real estate industry gears up for a major shift
A groundbreaking settlement of $418 million was published last week by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The settlement is set to lead the most extensive reforms the US real estate market has seen in a century.
The settlement and multiple rule changes will reshape how millions of buyers and sellers perform real estate transactions, and how the agents representing them get paid.
Here’s what homebuyers, sellers, brokers, and agents need to know about the upcoming changes in residential real estate.
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Why the NAR settlement?
The NAR settlement came about following a federal class-action antitrust lawsuit, Burnett v. National Association of Realtors et al., initiated in Kansas City, Missouri. Last October, a jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, agreeing that NAR and major brokerages colluded to artificially raise seller commissions.
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The Burnett case represents just one of over 20 similar lawsuits filed by home sellers against NAR and several major brokerages. Sellers argued that the association’s regulations governing properties listed on its affiliated Multiple Listing Services (MLS) unjustly supported agent