Author: lofaack

The National Association of Realtors and several real estate companies were ordered to pay $1.8 billion in damages after a federal jury in Missouri on Tuesday ruled that they conspired to artificially inflate brokerage commissions.

Beyond the realtors’ association, defendants in the case include Keller Williams, Berkshire Hathaway’s HomeService of America and two of its subsidiaries. The verdict came after a two-week trial in federal court in Kansas City.

Plaintiffs claimed the association and other defendants colluded to drive up the commission that sellers pay to brokers representing home buyers. Class members include the sellers of hundreds of thousands of

A landmark ruling against some of the most powerful players in the real estate industry could lead to major changes in how homes are bought and sold.

Last month, a federal jury in Missouri found that the National Association of Realtors and several large brokerages had conspired in a price fixing scheme that inflated the commissions agents earned from each sale.

So what does this mean for the Florida housing market? Here’s everything you need to know.

What was the lawsuit about?

The suit centers around the group’s rules for commission sharing.

In order to list a home on the

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The National Association of REALTORS® says it will continue arguing its case against two class-action lawsuits challenging real estate compensation structures, even after one of NAR’s co-defendants reportedly agreed to a proposed settlement.

Anywhere Real Estate, formerly known as Realogy Holdings Corp., agreed to settle all claims against the company in the two cases, known as Sitzer/Burnett and Moehrl, according to news reports. Details of the settlement, which will require court approval, have not been released. No other parties named in the lawsuits, including NAR and several major real estate

Residential home sales in London, Ont., declined in November, with the number of transactions down to nearly half of what they were during the peak of the pandemic three years ago, according to a local realtor.

It’s a ‘historic low’ — and a trend that’s expected to continue into the first quarter of 2024, as more home buyers feel cautious amid inflation and high interest rates on mortgages, said Marcus Plowright, owner of RE/MAX Hallmark A Team real estate brokerage in London.

“We had 420 transactions residentially in London in November of this year, and that was a pretty significant

Critics say the system locks in high commissions — typically the agents for the seller and buyer split a commission of 5 percent to 6 percent — that inflates the cost of housing even as technology has allowed consumers to find homes online.

The trade association, which represents 1.6 million real estate agents nationwide, said in a statement Friday that it continues to deny wrongdoing on the rule.

“NAR has worked hard for years to resolve this litigation in a manner that benefits our members and American consumers,” said Nykia Wright, NAR’s interim CEO. “It has always been our goal

One real estate investor is bearing witness to the start of the industry’s “greatest” correction he’s ever seen.

“I just want to say that we’re entering the largest real estate correction in my lifetime,” private equity fund manager Grant Cardone told “FOX & Friends” on Thursday while discussing the state of the industry.

“It’s [real estate correction] going to be a great opportunity for individuals, regular, everyday people to actually grab trophy real estate

What a difference a few months can make in the housing market.

Late last year when Realtor.com® issued its housing forecast for 2023, our economics team believed the number of homes for sale would jump substantially, home prices would continue climbing, and rising rents would continue to bedevil tenants across the country.

Clearly, not all of our predictions came true. That’s why Realtor.com has revised its forecast to reflect some new realities in the housing market that are having an outsized impact on buyers struggling with higher costs, sellers reluctant to give up their rock-bottom mortgage rates, and shell-shocked tenants

Summer is one of the hottest times of the year to buy a home. The months of May, June, July and August are popular with potential buyers thanks to factors including kids being out of school for summer break and families being more likely to commit to purchasing a home and moving in before the start of the school year.

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While housing inventory is typically at its peak during the summer