The good, bad and ugly: Rating the media’s commission coverage

After the National Association of Realtors announced its proposed commission settlement in March, mainstream media covered the historic news with mixed results, an Inman analysis shows. Continue reading

Is NAR a net-positive? It depends if you ask an agent or a broker: Intel

These increasingly uncertain attitudes among agents in March were a departure from brokers, who were more likely to tell Intel that they still view the National Association of Realtors positively. Continue reading

HomeServices of America agrees to pay $250M to settle lawsuits

HomeServices was potentially on the hook for the remaining $4.7 billion in damages from an Oct. 31 jury verdict in Sitzer | Burnett, which awarded plaintiffs $5.3 billion. 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

CoStar to acquire 3D scanning company Matterport for $1.6B

Matterport’s board of directors unanimously approved the deal, which will be finalized later this year. CoStar purchased its outstanding stock for $5.50 per share, reflecting a value of $1.6 billion. Continue reading

Weeklong BoomTown outage was caused by hackers, CEO confirms

On Wednesday, executives told customers that a “security incident involving a malicious third party” caused the outage that has disrupted thousands of brokers and agents since last week. Continue reading

Agents feel the pain as BoomTown outage extends into another week

Since April 10, brokerage websites across the country have been dark as BoomTown scrambles to resolve service disruptions. The outage has already impacted the bottom line, agents told Inman. Continue reading

Judges decline to ‘centralize’ commission lawsuits for now

A panel of judges considering whether to consolidate real estate commission lawsuits into one cited the recent NAR settlement as a reason to deny the request. Continue reading

BoomTown is dealing with a service outage. Now agents want answers

Real estate professionals have been seeking answers since Wednesday, when many lost access to their personal websites, lead services and other tools provided by Boomtown, agents told Inman. Continue reading

NAR President Kevin Sears sells brokerage to Anthony Lamacchia

Lamacchia had been in talks with the Sears family for years as he continued his expansion path across New England. The deal was announced this week. Continue reading