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The real estate industry has been in the headlines over the past week due the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit filed by a group of sellers in Missouri. Most of these headlines were quite misleading and very sensationalized, leading to a lot of questions and speculation, even among real estate professionals. Today, NAR President Kevin Sears shared a video update on the association’s settlement agreement that brought some clarity to what was actually proposed and how this will impact both consumers and agents. You can watch the video here.
The settlement terms need to be approved by the judge and possibly the Department of Justice, but we are already starting to prepare for the anticipated changes based on the settlement terms:
A real estate agent will be required to have a signed contract to represent a buyer, including the respective duties the agent and buyer have to each other, and what compensation is owed to the agent’s broker (Compass is our broker) when that buyer successfully purchases a home. This requirement is already mandated in many states, but will likely be required on a national level.
The MLS will no longer display whether a seller is offering compensation to a buyer’s agent. A seller can still elect to offer compensation to a buyer’s broker, but this information will have to be communicated to a buyer’s agent in a different manner other than through the MLS. There has been no clarity yet on how this will be done.
This proposed settlement protects brokers with 2022 closed sales under $2B against this lawsuit and other “copycat” suits by sellers that followed. The large brokers not covered are independently reaching settlement agreements and Compass announced today that it reached a $57.5m settlement. No other details were announced, other than "minor changes to business practices would be made."
We will continue to update you as we learn how this will impact you as a buyer or a seller moving forward, and our relationship with you as your agents.
If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please reach out to Noel at 619-890-2877.
Noel Wheeler
REALTOR
619-890-2877
DRE#01373389