You may have heard about a National Association of Realtors settlement recently. It includes changes in how real estate commissions are disclosed and negotiated with a goal of increasing transparency and fairness for homebuyers and sellers.
What’s it all about? Well, back in 2019, Missouri home sellers filed a class-action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR), accusing it of antitrust violations that inflated commissions. A jury sided with the plaintiffs, awarding a $1.8 billion verdict against NAR.
To settle this and other similar lawsuits, NAR agreed to two key rule changes:
- When listing homes on Multiple Listing Services (MLS), agents can no longer include the buyer agent’s compensation.
- Buyers will now be able to negotiate and formalize their agent’s pay through a signed contract.
The settlement doesn’t do away with the traditional 5-6% commission split between listing and buyer agents, and NAR emphasizes that commissions were always negotiable. But the changes are expected to make commissions more transparent and competitive, as buyers will now be more directly involved in negotiating agent fees.
If you have questions, you can contact us here at Atlanta Seniors Real Estate and we’ll follow up with you. You can also read more from the National Association of Realtors by clicking here.
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