Late last week, the National Association of Realtors (“NAR”) reached a $418 million nationwide settlement of claims, pending approval by a federal court, that the industry conspired to keep agent commissions higher. As we discussed in a recent blog, the NAR had been faced with a jury verdict of $1.8 billion in damages, finding that industry rules for how buyer’s agents […]
In the aftermath of the recent Federal Court ruling that held the National Association of Realtors and large residential brokerages liable for approximately $1.8 billion in damages after finding that they conspired to keep residential commissions artificially high, questions as to how, moving forward, commissions for buyer and seller Realtors will be structured remain. Currently, sellers pay their Realtor’s commission, […]
In its efforts to further curb money laundering in the United States, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCen”) of the U.S. Treasury Department has proposed a rule that would require real estate professionals involved in closings to disclose the names of people behind anonymous limited liability companies and trusts involved in all cash residential property transactions, regardless of price. This […]