NAR reached the agreement in March to settle a lawsuit, as well as a series of similar claims, by committing to make the changes and to pay $418 million in damages to a settlement fund.
It’s official: A legal settlement that will rewrite the way many real estate agents are paid in the United States has received its final approval from a federal judge.
Judge Stephen R. Bough of the Western District of Missouri on Tuesday approved an agreement between the National Association of Realtors and a group of home sellers who sued the real estate trade group over its longstanding rules on agents’ commissions, which they say forced them to pay excessive fees.
It was the last step in an eight-month process that was set in motion when NAR, the nation’s largest trade association, agreed to the landmark deal on March 15. It was also largely a formality — Bough gave preliminary approval to the agreement on April 23, and the rule changes detailed in the settlement took effect on Aug. 17, forcing agents across the country to begin adjusting how they do their jobs.
NAR reached the agreement in March to settle the lawsuit, as well as a series of similar claims, by committing to make the changes and to pay $418 million in damages to a settlement fund. That saved them significant money: In October 2023, a jury had agreed with homeowners who argued that NAR’s rules governing agent commissions
