eXp Realty, a subsidiary of eXp World Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPI), announced a $34 million settlement in the Hooper vs. the National Association of Realtors case.
The settlement is the latest among the major brokerages who were sued over their business practices related to commissions. According to the settlement, half of the sum will be paid within 30 days of a court’s preliminary agreement and the rest will be paid out in 2025.
eXp was not among the brokerages involved in NAR’s settlement of the Sitzer/Burnett case.
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it’s hard to imagine this much money is being paid out. how did this ever happen…. if these brokerages have this much money laying around how come more didn’t go to the agents. I’m ready to retire from the real estate industry. seems to be a dying industry just like the travel agency business was.
I can’t believe it would cost $34 million to fight in court an unjust, unfair “settlement”, that the members never got to discuss, or vote upon with the NAR! It hurts Buyers, it hurts the profession. Everything has always been negotiable, and it’s absolutely terrible. I don’t know what association from unions to doctors that you don’t get to vote on something that affects your entire profession and yet they went ahead and gave away the farm. Very disappointing, and absolutely disgusting organization.
Raising Money to help support the immigrants and destruction of the USA.
Medro, That is a truly inappropriate comment.
We should all opt out of NAR and join the new one Umansky founded. NAR did us a big disservice but on the other hand, what have they really ever done for us?
Realator for 40 years in Oregon – this settlement was the worst -realtors price fixing? The most cutthroat industry in the United States no way on a monopoly or price fixing this verdict was worse than Judge Ansel Haggerty‘s ruling in the Louisiana Pacific case where the homeowners all got really worked over in Oregon
100% AGREE GARY lARSEN
Who spells REAL’A’TOR.
Must be riding around with MEDRO making stuff up … and truly inappropriate. Your ignorance and lack of experience show through.
You’re the reason we REALTORS get a bad rap and zero help when we need it most.
I’ve only read down 6 comments and these uneducated Fools stick out like sore thumbs.
I agree with the other 3 comments, and have nothing to add but the above from Maggie, Brian and My Golly… but the other 3 don’t have a clue. Not sure CE would help you.
Funny but in 40 years you should know it’s Realtor not Realator
I sure would like to be enlightened by many agents…what benefit do they receive from NAR?
Zero
NAR should be ran out of town on a rail. The entire organization should be dismantled. We would be better off starting all over with something else. This is one of those rare instances where you have to burn the village to save it.
Just no need for NAR.
You guys are such idiots for doing this. Thanks for throwing us all under the bus.
This has hurt so many realtors! I pay $600+ per year to belong to the National Realtors Association to show that I am “Honest” and I have many real estate agents in my area that do not belong to the NAR and they have less trouble than we do as NAR members..Wish something else would come long for us so we do not need to belong to the NAR..
There is actually a new non-NAR start up. Can’t remember what it is called. $20.00 per year for regular membership and $1,500 to be a founding member. It’s supposed to be a National Group for Real Estate Agents.
AREA – American Real Estate Association. I have already joined!
americanrealestateassociation.org
TRAITORS, SPINELESS THIEVES!!
TERRIBLE representation for realtors! Thanks for NOTHING!
With all your bullshit conventions and bullshit magazines and you sell us out with the Amature
Law suit Settlements and the ridiculous Buyer document crap!
Bunch of PUSSYS!!!!
Ditto on lots of these comments, NAR leadership and their alleged “legal team” has sold us down the river. What real benefit do we get from them? I think we all need to ditch NAR and start over.
I can’t believe all the major franchises caved and paid. I can’t believe people are this stupid. No one but attorneys are making money on this from the suit to rewriting the contracts to make them what is demmed legal.
We are independent contractors, we own our own client base and can change brokers if we don’t agree with the company behavior.
There are smaller privately held firms out there…
Every meeting I have ever been to where there is more than one brokerage represented any discussion about commission as always been discussed as X% rather than saying an actual number in order avoid exactly what this case is alleging happens. And within my office every Realtor sets their own commission with their clients. Some charge more than I do and some less, and every client I have ever been to see has discussed the fact that they know commissions are negotiable and discussed with me what I charge. This unfortunately is going to impact buyers the most, especially first time home buyers and our most deserving VA buyers! If they work with inexperienced agents who don’t fully understand the new rules it will not end well.
In Texas the Listing and Buyer’s agreements are all up front and transparent. Most agents go a step further and show an estimated closing statement. Sellers will have a good estimate what they will walk away with after closing which includes commissions and any repairs that might be included are estimated if negotiated. Commissions have always been between the client, agent, and broker. NAR has never been in the commissions business, but has been in the business of taking money from its members to create training classes on real estate issues, and provide some degree of legal protection and advise. NAR has failed its members and should replace all their legal department. In the states where the law suits occurred the state commissions should replace all their legal department. All of this should have been handled through the errors and omissions insurance of the broker and agent. All the commissions and cost to close should have been done on day one when they turned the customer into a client.
Consider the growing non MLS alternative $20.00 for members, $1,500 for founding members and lifetime membership. A non MLS, non REALTOR® National listing service of sorts. This is where you can go to learn more about it https://www.americanrea.org/
Because of NAR’s attorney’s advising a settlement NAR is now a dirty word among most of its members. Mostly because from the outside looking in it was a very dumb move. Most agents {NAR members} go over the seller and buyer rep agreements and estimate of closing cost before a transaction ever starts. It was always a local issue involving an incompetent agents and a badly run broker office. That’s all. NAR has never been involved in commission structures or commission splits with the brokers. NAR’s attorneys were and still are complete morons. NAR will never be the same. Maybe it’s members need to ask for refunds on their annual dues.
We are seeing a shift in the business of real estate & so far it looks like the blob doesn’t want anyone to own personal property, no independent contractors, corporations will own & run it all. No need for NAR and realtors will be employees. Every institution & org today has been infiltrated by USA haters & socialists, that’s what happened to NAR. It will be incremental steps so you don’t notice until it’s too late.
Was this NAR lawsuit to provide transparency in negotiations?? What our smaller real estate brokerage is seeing in the Phoenix area is no transparency, some listing agents not taking phone calls so we cannot show some homes, some larger real estate companies telling us that in order for the buyer’s agent to get compensation, the buyer must submit a full price offer? What??!! This seems like extortion. We also see a few brokerages who will not disclose compensation until the offer is received. One of the agents said that this is an accepted practice in their brokerage. We reached out to the NAR about this issue and they said it was an acceptable practice due to the seller’s wishes. How is that supposed to be transparent. We see the buyers getting hurt by this lawsuit! And how does this affect the buyer’s agent? Yikes!