New Real Estate Commission rules endanger Black real estate professionals and homebuyers

This is the goal, the joy of homeownership. The challenge is to end, not expand, the Black-white inequality gap. New agent compensation rules threaten Black real estate professionals and create new barriers to Black homeownership and wealth Washington, D.C. – Dr. Courtney Johnson Rose, president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), is warning that imminent changes in the agent compensation formula for home purchases threaten the financial stability of Black real estate professionals while creating new barriers to increasing homeownership for African Americans. “We are entering an uncertain period for Black families and the real estate professionals who serve them,” cautioned Dr. Rose. “For decades, the public, private and non-profit sectors have worked to overcome the blatant racism that prevented many Black families from becoming homeowners and building generational wealth. We must ensure that new barriers are not constructed that stall or jeopardize our progress.” The real estate industry is aligning with a negotiated settlement in a Missouri case that challenged a decades-old system requiring the agents of home sellers to split the commission on sales with the agents of home buyers. Starting Aug. 17, home sellers and their agents can no longer outline compensation for agents...