Following the verdict of a class-action lawsuit, the National Association of Realtors released a settlement agreement on March 15 that could change the home-buying process.
The Sitzer-Burnett case is a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors. The plaintiffs, representatives for home sellers, accused the organization and two brokerages, HomeServices of America and Keller Williams, of conspiring to inflate agent commissions.
The real estate group issued the settlement to conclude the litigation.
“The agreement would resolve claims against NAR, over one million NAR members, all state/territorial and local Realtor associations, all association-owned Multiple Listing Services, and all brokerages with an NAR member as principal that had a residential transaction volume in 2022 of $2 billion or below,” the released document said.
In traditional real estate transactions, buyer agents receive commissions from the seller, who shares the compensation amount up-front on Multiple Listing Services, a database for brokers to communicate information about properties for sale electronically.