A Missouri court found the National Association of Realtors and two real-estate brokerages guilty of conspiring to inflate real-estate commissions, a decision that will likely have a deep impact on the U.S. housing market. The NAR, one of the largest industry groups in the U.S., as well as brokerages HomeServices of America and Keller Williams, were found guilty Tuesday by a Kansas City, Mo., jury of colluding to inflate or maintain high commission rates.
The verdict is the first of two antitrust lawsuits that aim to address a longstanding practice of commissions being paid by sellers, and aims to reform the way agents are paid. The verdict was part of the “Sitzer/Burnett” case, which was first filed in May 2019. The trial had begun on Oct. 16, and had concluded after two weeks of testimony. Ryan Tomasello, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, told MarketWatch that the outcomes of this case, as well as other, similar ongoing legal battles, could fundamentally reshape the way U.S. home buyers and sellers transact. Typically, when a home is sold, the listing agent and the buying agent get a 3% commission each, both of which are paid for by the selle …
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