and some of the largest real estate brokers in the country guilty of colluding to inflate real estate commissions.The jury, after around two weeks of testimony from the plaintiffs and defendants, ordered the NAR and real estate franchises HomeServices of America and Keller Williams to pay $1.78 billion in damages to the sellers ofThe case is just one class-action lawsuit against the defendants, and the guilty verdict, if upheld, could spawn new legal actions in other states.
Specifically at issue is the seller's fee payments to the buyer's Realtor, which are in part governed by the NAR's Clear Cooperation Rule, Axios' Real estate agents generally must become members of the NAR, one of the largest trade associations in the U.S., to gain access to most local real estate databases.The plaintiffs argued that the rule effectively creates a conspiracy that artificially drives up home prices, as agents can steer their clients to properties that offer compensation.