U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri Grants Final Approval of NAR Settlement
26 November 2024 - 11:54PM
Today, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
granted final approval of the National Association of Realtors®’
proposed settlement agreement to resolve class action claims
related to broker commissions. The Court heard from all parties as
well as objectors and the Department of Justice. Once arguments
concluded, the Court quickly ruled to grant final approval. The
Court is expected to soon issue a formal written order.
The settlement secures a release of liability for more than 1.4
million NAR members, all state/territorial and local Realtor®
associations, Realtor® Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), NAR’s
affiliate organizations and all brokerages with an NAR member
as principal that had a residential transaction volume in 2022 of
$2 billion or below. The settlement also releases MLSs and
brokerages that chose to opt-in to the agreement.
“This is an important moment for NAR members, home buyers and
sellers, and the real estate industry,” said NAR President Kevin
Sears, broker-associate of Sears Real Estate/Lamacchia Realty in
Springfield, Massachusetts. “As consumer champions, NAR’s members
have been working tirelessly to implement the practice changes
required by the settlement and shepherd consumers through this
period of transition. The principles of transparency, competition
and choice are core to the settlement agreement and empower real
estate professionals and consumers to negotiate the services and
compensation that work for them.”
NAR CEO Nykia Wright said, “NAR is committed to empowering
Realtors® to help home buyers and sellers successfully navigate
what is often the most important financial transaction of their
lives. Today and every day, NAR is focused on demonstrating the
importance of agents who are Realtors® in the marketplace, creating
a transparent and inclusive home buying and selling process, and
advancing the right to real property for all.”
More information about the practice changes in the settlement
agreement can be found at NAR Settlement FAQs. NAR members must
adhere to the practice changes in good faith to maintain released
status under the settlement agreement. NAR strongly opposes any
attempts to circumvent the settlement.
Under the settlement, NAR will also pay $418 million over
approximately four years to the settlement fund. Membership dues
for 2025 will remain unchanged from 2024.
For complete information about the settlement and the approval
order once available, please visit facts.realtor.
About the National Association of Realtors®The National
Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association,
representing 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the
residential and commercial real estate industries. The term
Realtor® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies
a real estate professional who is a member of the National
Association of Realtors® and subscribes to its strict Code of
Ethics. For free consumer guides about navigating the homebuying
and selling transaction processes – from written buyer agreements
to negotiating compensation – visit facts.realtor.
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Information about NAR is available at
nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted in
the newsroom at nar.realtor/newsroom.
Mantill Williams
National Association of REALTORS®
202/383-1128
mwilliams@nar.realtor
