On March 15, 2024, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) announced that it has agreed to pay $418 million to settle multiple antitrust lawsuits against the trade group. While the lawsuits accused NAR of imposing rules that inflated real estate commissions, NAR has denied any wrongdoing. As part of the settlement, NAR has also agreed to a new set of rules, which are slated to go into effect on August 17th, 2024. 

A final court approval is slated for November 26th, 2024, with a transition period allowing for implementation of the new changes to the MLS. In the meantime, NAR has revised its MLS handbook and updated their FAQs in preparation for the August 17 date, in order to comply with the terms of the settlement. Some key points addressed by NAR include:

• Clarification when a buyer's agreement is necessary, when it isn't, and what it might include
• MLS changes including the removal of the offer of compensation field, where listing agents could specify the compensation available to buyer brokers

These changes will potentially shift the cost of working with a buyer’s agent from the seller to the buyer. Additionally, barring listing agents from including the buyer’s agent compensation offer on the MLS means buyers and sellers will have to negotiate the commission. If a seller does not agree to the buyer agent fees, then it will likely fall to the buyer to cover those costs. 

SoftPro's Directory of Regulatory Compliance Leslie Wyatt discussed the NAR settlement and its anticipated effects on the industry in episode 55 of our SoftPro Saved You a Seat webinar series. Watch the webinar recording to hear more about the settlement and other current industry and regulatory news.

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