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.

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.

  • EatATaco@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 months ago

    Without PMI, if you don’t put 20% down, they just won’t give you the loan for that amount. Outlawing PMI would just screw the consumers who can afford the payments, but just don’t have the 20% to put down. Which was the case for me when I bought my first house.