If this is not the right place for this I will remove. I work in a realtor adjacent field and just heard that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) lost some big case. What was it about, and what implications does it have with buying selling a home?
In: 2
I am not a realtor, so I apologize in advance if I misspeak slightly. The NAR has (guidelines?/rules?) for its members that they put into every agent’s contract that there will be a 6% commission on the sale paid by the house seller, and that commission will be split between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent.
A group sued, saying that the seller paying the buyer’s agent is an unfair business practice, and NAR is only able to keep pushing it because they have a monopoly-like power over the realty market in the US. A federal jury in Missouri heard evidence and agreed that a ~3% commission to be paid from the seller to the buyer’s agent is not what would be commercially reasonable, but just what NAR is able to enforce because it can crowd out any other trade association that would treat home sellers better.
NAR is going to appeal, but if the decision stands in place, it may change the structure of buyer’s and seller’s agent contracts in the future.
Latest Answers