Real Brokerage settlement overview:
- Who: Real Brokerage, a real estate technology company, agreed to pay $9.2 million to resolve home sellers’ claims.
- Why: The sellers claim Real Brokerage charged inflated agent fees.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Missouri federal court.
Real Brokerage agreed to pay $9.2 million to resolve claims involving the real estate technology company’s agent fee policy.
In addition to the settlement funds, Real Brokerage agreed to implement specific changes to its business practices, such as clarifying commission negotiability and including listing broker compensation offers in its communications with clients.
Real Brokerage, which has not admitted any liability, says it will also clarify prohibitions on claims that buyer agent services are free and develop training materials to support its practice changes.
The policy changes followed those agreed to by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) last month as part of a $418 million settlement ending claims its commission rules caused home sellers to pay inflated fees.
Real Brokerage says it does not foresee the settlement agreement, which still must receive preliminary and final approval from the court, having a “material impact” on the company’s future operations.
Real Brokerage settlement agreement follows $1.8 billion verdict against National Association of Realtors
The Real Brokerage settlement also follows a $1.8 billion Missouri federal jury verdict last year against the NAR and a pair of brokerages in a lawsuit filed by a group of home sellers alleging they paid inflated commissions on home sales.
The home sellers argued an NAR rule requiring brokers working for a seller to offer to compensate a buyer-side broker when listing a property for sale eliminated competition and constituted a violation of antitrust law.
They also claimed the rule eliminated competition between brokers who worked for buyers and caused sellers to pay an inflated fee of around 3% to each broker.
Keller Williams, Anywhere Real Estate and RE/MAX also recently settled claims with home sellers, agreeing to pay a collective $208.5 million.
Have you paid an inflated fee when selling a home? Let us know in the comments.
The Real Brokerage settlement is In re: Umpa, et al. v. The National Association of Realtors, et al., Case No. 4:23-cv-00945, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
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