Reuters is reporting that a federal court in Kansas City Missouri has returned a verdict in a class action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors, awarding the plaintiffs $1.78 billion in damages. The report says the class action included sellers of 260k+ homes in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois between 2015 & 2022, who objected to the commissions they were obligated to pay buyers’ brokers. As expected the NAR is planning to appeal the verdict.
“The verdict by a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, could upend decades-old practices that have allowed real estate agents to boost commissions as home prices and mortgage rates rise, hurting consumers by making housing transactions more expensive.”
Reuters is also reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice has asked a federal appeals court in Washington to let it revive an antitrust probe into the NAR’s practices.
Click here to read the full story at Reuters.com.
Click here to read the NAR’s response.
