California Association of Realtors CEO resigns after 2 years

Two years after taking the helm, California Association of Realtors CEO John Sebree has stepped down from his post. His resignation went into effect immediately, with C.A.R. subsidiary Real Estate Business Services (REBS) CEO Debra Ferrier taking over … Continue reading

Decades of NAR membership data has vanished amid enrollment dip

Each month, the trade group publicly reports the size of its ranks and other data on its official website. But as recently as this month, state-by-state and national data is nowhere to be found. Continue reading

Sitzer judge grants preliminary approval for NAR settlement

Judge Stephen R. Bough ruled that the sweeping changes NAR agreed to were “fair, reasonable and adequate” and set a final approval hearing for November. Continue reading

60-day clock begins for brokerages seeking to opt into $418M NAR deal

Sitzer | Burnett plaintiffs on Friday asked the court to preliminarily approve the proposed deal. Brokerages and MLSs that were left out initially will have to take action by June 18 to be covered. Continue reading

Defendants fight to get homebuyer commission suits tossed

The National Association of Realtors, Keller Williams, Anywhere, RE/MAX, Compass, eXp and others offered a slew of arguments for why the Batton 1 and Batton 2 cases should be thrown out. Continue reading

Existing-home sales drop in March as high rates stun homebuyers

Existing-home sales retreated 4.3 percent between February and March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors. Continue reading

Industry gets some clarity on mortgage commission rules

Fannie, Freddie and FHA say sellers can continue to pay the buyer’s agent’s commission. But it remains to be seen if buyers will be allowed to finance their agent’s commission into their mortgage. Continue reading

What agents do post-settlement will define Real Estate 3.0

Two major real estate market transformations defined the past 50 years, writes CEO Patrick Kilner. Are we ready for whatever comes next? Continue reading

Federal courts hand HomeServices a win (and a loss) in Sitzer | Burnett

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the real estate franchisor’s request for consideration on Monday, but the plaintiffs won’t be able to lay $4.7 billion in damages at HomeServices’ feet — at least not yet. Continue reading

Will lawsuits end 6% commissions? Probably not, 1 law professor says

A provision in NAR’s settlement barring listing agents from offering buyer agents compensation is “largely symbolic,” USC professor Jordan Barry said Friday at a University of Minnesota conference. Continue reading