Historic settlement reshapes real estate landscape

In a development reshaping the real estate industry, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) finalized a historic settlement late last year following a multibillion-dollar antitrust ruling. This $418 million settlement, expected to go into effect by July pending judicial approval, marks a significant shift in loosening the powerful trade group’s grip on America’s housing market. The settlement comes after a Missouri lawsuit challenged the decades-old system requiring the agents of home sellers to split the commission on sales with the agents of home buyers.& Most commissions range between five and six percent of home sale prices.& Under the settlement, home sellers and their agents can no longer outline compensation for agents representing buyers within their MLS listings.& They can, however, negotiate outside of the official listing. Still, the agreement effectively ends decades of the NAR’s profound influence, with its 1.5 million agents shaping industry practices. Central to the lawsuit was the standard commission structure, typically around 6% of a home’s sale price, split between the seller’s and buyer’s brokers. Critics argued that specific NAR rules have artificially inflated these commissions, maintaining them at levels far above international standards. The settlement allows brokers to advertise rates and consumers to seek better...