What is the NAR lawsuit all about?

This lawsuit, at its core, is about transparency - making sure that all parties to a real estate transaction know how agents are being paid for their services and hard work.

In general, sellers pay their listing agent and then make an offer of compensation to the agent that represents a buyer. The reason for this is that the buyer often uses ALL of their financial resources for their down payment, to obtain a loan, and to pay all of the other expenses associated with a home purchase. Not to mention, they may need a new couch for their new home!

In this lawsuit, all of the plaintiffs - who were home sellers - claimed they had no idea that they could offer whatever they wanted to a buyer agent. This case creates that clarity for sellers throughout the U.S.

The National Association of Realtors and several other brokerages, including Compass, settled this lawsuit but the court must approve the settlement. This can take months and the terms of the settlement could change.

In the settlement agreement, starting in July 2024, NAR-affiliated multiple listing services can no longer offer compensation to buyer’s agents in their system. Buyer’s agents will need to contact the listing agent to find out if compensation is being offered to a buyer’s broker. Buyers can also pay their buyer’s broker on their own or ask the seller to pay their buyer’s broker.

Also, real estate agents must fully disclose that commissions are negotiable and not set by law. They are also required to inform their clients that their services are not free. We have been doing these things for years. Agents will also be required to get a signed agreement before showing a property to a buyer (something else we've been doing in Maryland for years).

Finally, listings that a buyer’s agent may find to show their buyer client cannot be sorted based on the buyer broker commission offered. Our multiple listing service does not allow this type of sorting so this is not something that was done in our market. We will always make you aware of every property that might fit your needs.

If you have any questions about this please let me know! I am always here to help.

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