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Realtors grappling with changes to how commissions are paid

The real estate market is headed for a big shakeup because of changes to the way agents are compensated in property transactions.

While many professional services like attorneys or accountants charge by the hour, real estate agents work for a commission as a percentage of the money exchanged in a transaction. Agents only get paid when the deal closes.

In residential home sales, the total commission paid by the seller is typically 6% of the sale price. This amount is split as a “co-op” between the broker representing the seller and the broker representing the buyer and is advertised on the MLS as so. Agents then receive a portion of the commission split among the brokers.

The plaintiffs of the lawsuit successfully argued that they should not be responsible for paying the buyer’s broker’s commission.

As a result of recent antitrust lawsuits, the National Association of Realtors has agreed to settle by paying $418 million in damages and is eliminating its rules on the standard six percent sales commission model, pending court approval.

The lawsuit asserted that it was unfair for MLS to require real estate brokers to advertise payment to the buyer agent’s commission from the sale of their

National Association of Realtors Settlement Will Reverberate Throughout the Real Estate Industry

New rules — and a monster settlement — could start saving homebuyers and sellers thousands of dollars in lower commissions while increasing competition among brokers as soon as this summer.

While the changes work their way across the industry, the National Association of Realtors, the country’s largest trade group, has agreed to a $1.8 billion fine over four years to settle charges that the industry conspired to keep agent commissions among the world’s highest by requiring sellers to pay the selling and purchasing agent commissions, which nationally often was 5 to 6 percent. Some estimates call for an annual consumer savings of $20 billion to $50 billion due to the upcoming changes as the anti-trust case has the potential to change the way homes have been sold for generations. The early forecast is that these adjustments will provide significant changes in how real estate brokers are compensated, especially with lower commissions.

In October, a federal jury ruled that NAR had conspired to artificially inflate commissions. The ruling originated with a 2019 anti-trust suit brought by a group of Missouri homesellers arguing the industrywide practice violated anti-trust laws. As a result, buyer brokers will no longer be able to select the