Realtors

Federal Jury Awards $5.3 Billion Verdict in Antitrust Case Against National Association of Realtors and Real Estate Franchisors

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Realtors and major real estate franchisors have been found guilty in an antitrust case that accused them of colluding to inflate real estate commissions. A federal jury issued a verdict in favor of approximately 500,000 Missouri homesellers seeking reimbursements for $1.78 billion in commissions paid to buyer brokers. The jury awarded $1,785,310,872 in damages, which will be trebled to $5.356 billion under the law. The case focused on whether there was a conspiracy among the defendants — NAR, Keller Williams, Realogy, RE/MAX, HomeServices of America, and its … Read more

Federal Jury Awards $1.8 Billion to Home Sellers in Historic Lawsuit Against National Association of Realtors and Brokerages

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Kansas City, Missouri – A federal jury in Kansas City has ruled in favor of a class-action lawsuit, finding that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and certain residential real estate brokerages engaged in a conspiracy to maintain artificially high commissions. The jury determined that the defendants colluded to enforce the “Mandatory Offer of Compensation Rule,” also known as cooperative compensation. This rule compelled sellers who wanted to list their properties on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to offer compensation to the buyer’s agent. As a result, sellers were forced to pay inflated commissions, typically … Read more