Realtor commission fees consumers pay to buy and sell a house could soon change.
The National Association of Realtors, embroiled in legal battles over the real estate industry's commission structure, has reached a settlement that could dramatically slash the fees paid to agents.
NAR said Friday that the settlement would lead to it put in place a new Multiple Listing Service rule, which would prohibit offers of broker compensation.
The association’s rules do not set commission rates, NAR said, which are negotiated between consumers and their agents.
However, the real estate industry has long worked under a model of a 5% to 6% commission paid by the seller and split between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent.
A federal case in Missouri that challenged that commission structure led to a jury deciding in October that NAR and large brokerage firms conspired to keep costs artificially high. The jury awarded $1.8 billion in damages, which could rise to more than $5 billion under antitrust rules.
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