• Homesellers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against 36 major Realtor associations, brokerage, and multiple listing services. The claim is that these entities conspired to inflate buyer broker commissions, thus allegedly violating federal and state antitrust laws.
• These parties are accused of making commission negotiations less transparent, and as a result, home buyers may be LARPing as Oliver Twist, begging, “Please, sir, I want some more…information!”
• The plaintiffs also assert that defendants’ rules prevent brokerages from offering more competitive rates—making it feel like the real estate version of The Hunger Games, with brokerages offering pretty paltry rewards to the Victors (or in this case, buyers).
• While all these allegations await judgment, contenders in the real estate arena are preparing their best defense, more like revisiting their childhood school debates times, but this time with a high financial stake.
• In response to this lawsuit, National Association of Realtors said there’s no conspiracy and they are merely following ‘industry practices’.

To sum it all up, they just turned the housing market into a Hollywood thriller with some plot twist. Homesellers are alleging that Realty’s Big Boys have been secretly playing a less-than-wholesome game of Monopoly, artificially inflating buyer broker commissions, and creating an air of secrecy akin to Fight Club. What’s the first rule of Real Estate Club? ‘We do not talk about Commission Rates!’ This is all allegedly, of course.

In the wise words of Sherlock Holmes, or actually, let’s make it a less copyright-violating version – ‘Propertylock Showmes’, “The game is afoot.” (Q.E.D., there’s so much backward Latin crap that even Julius Caesar might feel out of place). And now, the highly-anticipated courtroom drama awaits where the accusations of price-fixing schemes will be judged. How do these allegations hold up? We don’t know yet, but one thing’s for sure: even Netflix is considering investing into a series titled “Million Dollar Conspiracy (Not Listings)” based on these thrilling real estate events.

Homesellers Sue Real Estate Big Guns

Federal Lawsuit Filed Against 36 Real Estate Entities

Accused of Inflating Buyer Broker Commissions: The Real Estate Thriller Unfolds

Original article: https://www.inman.com/2024/01/19/california-commission-lawsuit-filed-against-nar-and-35-other-entities/