Realtor settlement on commission-fixing could create seismic changes in how Americans buy homes | CNN Business
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The 6% commission, a standard in home purchase transactions, is no more.

The 6% commission, a standard in home purchase transactions, is no more.

In a sweeping move expected to reduce the cost of buying and selling a home, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday a settlement with groups of homesellers of landmark antitrust lawsuits by agreeing to pay $418 million in damages and eliminating rules on commissions.

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In November, a federal jury in Missouri found the NAR and two brokerages liable for $1.8 billion in damages for conspiring to keep agent commissions artificially high. The NAR had pledged to appeal the case, but other brokerages settled — and, eventually, so did the NAR on Friday.

NAR had required homesellers to pay a set 6% commission that is typically split evenly between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent. Although the NAR said the commission was negotiable and helped make housing more affordable for buyers, critics have long argued that the fees were effectively set and made housing more expensive.

    • MicroWave@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      8 months ago

      Can you elaborate? NY Times and Washington Post are reporting the same:

      American homeowners could see a significant drop in the cost of selling their homes after a real estate trade group agreed to a landmark deal that will eliminate a bedrock of the industry, the standard 6 percent sales commission.

      https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/15/realestate/national-association-realtors-commission-settlement.html

      The real estate group, which represents 1.5 million real estate agents around the country, said it will pay $418 million over four years to settle several cases, along with agreements to change the rules that plaintiffs alleged supported 5 to 6 percent commissions paid by home sellers. The association said it continues to deny wrongdoing.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/15/nar-real-estate-commissions-settlement/

    • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
      0·
      8 months ago

      I’ve never paid more than 3% on my home sales in Austin. Put simply, the market was too hot. I said “I’m not paying more than 3% total” to which most independent Realtors I interviewed said that.they would not do it because it would impact the showings. So I went to the top Realtor in the city and they agreed. All they did was list it on MLS and on their website. The longest sale took less than a month with the shortest being under contract before it was even listed. They just called one of their clients and it was gone in less than two hours.

      6% for essentially zero effort is bullshit.

      PS: You can list your home for sale on MLS yourself. There are plenty of services that do it for a fixed fee.