Real Estate News

MARCH 21, 2025

Buyer agreements are a good thing, Alabama Realtors CEO says, but the law, inspired in part by the DOJ, gives consumers and agents more time to negotiate.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 15, 2024

Buyer agent fees have historically been fees customarily paid by the property seller or property seller’s real estate agent, and, as such, they are currently excluded from these financing concession limits,” according to the statement from Freddie Mac. Next, we hope Fannie will provide a similar framework for buyers.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 3, 2025

The debate surrounding the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy is raging on. Marx Stercow, the managing attorney at Sterbcow Law Group , agrees that agents and brokers need to be mindful of what they tell consumers about private listing networks. Jerrold Bregman, a partner at BG Law , shares a similar view.

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Housing Wire

MAY 3, 2024

Earlier this week, Zillow launched a new “touring agreement,” a nonexclusive contract for buyers and agents to use for home tours. This agreement must be signed prior to an agent taking a buyer to tour a home. This agreement must be signed prior to an agent taking a buyer to tour a home. According to Laura M.

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Housing Wire

MAY 21, 2024

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs will soon release a circular that “bridges the gap” on an agency law that prohibits a VA buyer from paying their real estate agent compensation, a VA official announced on Tuesday. NAR has also advocated for the VA to change its rule around buyer broker compensation.

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Housing Wire

JULY 12, 2024

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) evidently wants no part of the Department of Justice. The DOJ expressed concerns about possible loopholes the forms might contain, which could allow agents to skirt new rules implemented as part of the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) antitrust settlement.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 18, 2025

Compass and its CEO, Robert Reffkin, have not been shy when it comes to voicing their displeasure over the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP). And at the MLS used by the San Francisco Association of Realtors , agents can designate listings as Coming Soon.

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

When the Department of Justice (DOJ) came out in opposition of buyer representation agreements as they are defined in the National Association of Realtors (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement, Alabama Association of Realtors took notice. It will go to the Senate next week.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

Real estate agents and real estate brokers are both licensed real estate professionals who can assist buyers and sellers, but you should be aware of some key differences and state-specific distinctions. A real estate agent is a licensed professional who represents buyers or sellers in real estate transactions. Let’s dive in!

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Housing Wire

APRIL 30, 2024

As the July deadline for the implementation of the business practice changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement approaches, the trade organization is looking to iron out some details about buyer broker agreements.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 23, 2023

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The second week of the Sitzer/Burnett class-action buyer broker commission antitrust lawsuit kicked off with a bang. A judgment as a matter of law is permissible if there is no legally sufficient basis for a reasonable jury to find for the nonmoving party (in this instance, the plaintiffs) on the issue.

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

As brokerages across the country have begun implementing buyer agency contracts into their business practices in the wake of the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit verdict, the Consumer Federation of America is warning consumers that they may be filled with “unfair provisions” that primarily protect agents and brokers.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Defendants in the Sitzer/Burnett class action lawsuit, which deals with buyer brokers’ commissions, are facing two fewer claims. On Monday, plaintiffs in the Sitzer/Burnett suit filed an unopposed motion for dismissal of the state law claims pled in their third amended complaint. Bough, a U.S.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 29, 2024

Many state Realtor associations’ new forms —such as buyer representation agreements—are largely incomprehensible to the average homebuyer or seller and have language that seeks to avoid the terms of the National Association of Realtors ‘ (NAR) nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement , according to a report released earlier this month.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 22, 2024

There is no doubt that the cooperative compensation structure changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors’ commission lawsuits settlement agreement will generate massive changes in the real estate industry, but those are not the only changes mandated by the terms of the agreement. As of Jan.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 31, 2025

Plaintiffs in a high-profile commission lawsuit have been denied a motion to intervene in eXp World Holdings’ and Weichert Realtors settlement in a separate case. The cases accuse NAR and brokerages of artificially inflating commissions for buyer agents. Cohen rejected the motion to intervene in the Hooper case.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

According to court documents filed on Monday, RE/MAX and the home sellers suing the firm in both the Moehrl and Sitzer/Burnett cases, which both deal with buyer brokers’ commissions, have reached a preliminary settlement agreement, settling all claims in both suits.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 1, 2025

Conversation then moved to MLS PINs insistence on maintaining sellers ability to make offers of compensation to buyers brokers through the MLS if they so choose, unlike MLSs affiliated with Realtor associations, which have removed offers of compensation from the MLS due to provisions in the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 21, 2025

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement as well as settlements reached by RE/MAX, Keller Williams, Anywhere , Compass, Redfin, At World Properties and many others may have received final approval , but the first commission lawsuit settlement to be reached has not been so fortunate.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 26, 2024

“I was sitting on my couch and I saw Michael on CNBC calling us a cartel, saying that we take money that doesn’t belong to us, and I was infuriated at that rhetoric and I was infuriated at what that infers about Realtors,” Lamacchia said. “It It dehumanizes Realtors and turns us into money-making machines.”

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Housing Wire

JULY 1, 2024

In its statement of interest, the DOJ claims that the changes MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN) proposed for its commission rule “still gives sellers and their listing brokers a role in setting compensation for buyers’ brokers. … When sellers make such offers, buyer brokers need not compete on price to attract buyers.’”

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 26, 2023

She said that HomeServices does not meddle in operations, give advice, or advise on commissions or how the brokerage approaches Realtor association membership. Frazier also told the jury that ReeceNichols does not require agents to be members of the National Association of Realtors , but the local MLS does.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

These anti-discrimination statutes make it illegal to refuse to rent, sell or lease housing because of a lawful source of income being provided. An accessible checklist on the FHA website would give home sellers, buyers, housing counselors, real estate agents and others a reliable source of information, according to the report.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 30, 2024

The proposed settlement between the National Association of REALTORS ( NAR ) and class-action litigants has prompted much discussion about a series of practice changes affecting compensation for real estate professionals. For reasons both practical and legal, buyer-agent commissions are not today explicitly financeable with a mortgage.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 30, 2025

But the scope of the suit is much larger as it seeks class-action status for all persons who listed properties on a Multiple Listing Service in the United States using a listing agent or broker affiliated with one of the brokerage defendants and paid a buyer broker commission between Oct. 31, 2019, and the present.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 18, 2024

The complaint names 35 entities as defendants, including the National Association of Realtors , local and national brokerages, MLSs and local Realtor associations. Patrick Thurber, a California home seller, is an additional named plaintiff in the suit. 17, 2020, and the present.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 1, 2024

As brokerage firms fine tune how to handle the business practice changes outlined in the terms of the National Association of Realtors’ nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement , which are set to go into effect on August 17 , many are focusing on how their agents will handle compensation on both the buy-side and the sell-side.

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Housing Wire

JULY 3, 2024

District Court in Philadelphia on behalf of Davis by attorneys at Korein Tillery LLC , the same law firm representing the plaintiffs in the Batton suits. Davis is a resident of North Carolina who purchased a home in Greensboro in 2022 using a buyer agent from Allen Tate Real Estate LLC , a subsidiary of Hanna Holdings.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 8, 2024

The suit, which is named after its plaintiff Scott Davis, was filed in late May in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of Davis by attorneys at Korein Tillery LLC , the same law firm representing the plaintiffs in the Batton suits. All other state law claims must therefore be dismissed.” Illinois, 431 U.S.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Like the other commission lawsuits, the Grace suit takes aim at NAR’s Participation Rule, which requires listing agents to make a blanket offer of compensation to the buyer’s broker in order to list the property on the MLS. The National Association of REALTORS will respond to this complaint in court.”

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024

The privately owned multiple listing service has taken a laissez faire approach since its launch in 2009, as it promises no fees and fewer rules than MLSs owned by Realtor associations. You have to follow the law, but if it’s legal, you can do it,” Pfaff said. “We We will always comply with the law.”

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Moving past cooperative compensation In early August, Bright MLS , the nation’s second largest MLS, began allowing listing agents to use a $0 blanket offer of compensation for buyer brokers and still list a property on the MLS. This change does allow for listing agents to no longer offer any monetary compensation to buyers’ brokers.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

Attorneys, Realtors and clients are a big part of our repeat business.” But three multibillion-dollar class action antitrust lawsuits looming over the real estate industry may soon reshape how buyers interact with agents.

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Appraisal Buzz

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Home sellers are no longer liable for paying the realtor costs for both the buyer and the seller as a result of a federal case. 25% will rely on conventional rates, while 45% will directly negotiate commission with their realtor. Nine percent, or almost one in 10, were completely unaware of the commission laws.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Three researchers believe a first-of-its-kind dataset has enabled them to definitively answer a long-debated question: why have buyer agent commission rates been so stable historically? So how is the uniformity and permanence of buyer agents’ 2-3% rate possible in a free market? One of the researchers, Will Fried, had a hunch.

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Inman

MARCH 24, 2025

Alabama Association of Realtors CEO Jeremy Walker said the association was in favor of buyer-broker agreements in general, but felt that requiring one for a home tour put buyers under unnecessary duress, and that the new law would be in the consumer's best interest.

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Inman

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

University of Buffalo contracts law professor Tanya Monestier's sample form makes clear the buyer is on the hook for buyer broker compensation so long as they successfully close a deal.

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