Home sellers who sold a home in the last four years could be eligible to receive compensation as part of the $418 million Realtor settlement.
Earlier this month, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the firm of working with other brokerages to artificially inflate the commissions paid to agents, violating antitrust laws. While the NAR continues to deny wrongdoing, it has agreed to pay $418 million over four years as part of the settlement agreement.
Who Is Eligible To Receive Settlement Payments?
Under the terms, anyone who sold a home after Oct. 31, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2024, will be eligible for compensation. However, the property sold should have been listed on a multiple listing service (MLS). Commission should have also been paid to any agent or broker during the said transaction, per the Des Moines Register.
More than 21 million homes were sold in that period, NAR figures show.
The seller does not need to have sold the home using a Realtor to be eligible for the settlement payment. Sellers should receive notification if they are entitled to a payment.
How Much Does Each Seller Get in Settlement Payments?
The NAR has yet to submit a proposal for how the settlement funds will be allocated. However, assuming that legal fees consume one-third of the settlement, that would mean only $300 million will be left for settlement payments. If there are 21 million sellers eligible for payments, it means each seller would only get $13.
That being said, the total settlement pool could reach $2 billion once other brokerages named in the lawsuit such as Re/Max, Anywhere, and Keller Williams pay their part of the settlement.
Compass, one of the brokerages named in the lawsuits, has recently agreed to pay $57.5 million to settle claims, The Real Deal reported, citing an emailed statement from CEO Robert Reffkin. Compass also denied any wrongdoing.
"The reason we have chosen to settle is so we can minimize distractions and focus on serving you and your clients," Reffkin said.
If all brokerages settle their claims, that could raise payments to $63 per seller.
