On March 15, the National Association of Realtors announced a $418 million settlement to resolve nationwide claims that the residential real estate industry’s standard 6% brokers’ commission violated antitrust laws. The deal sent shockwaves through the industry, opening the door for the biggest changes in decades to how Americans buy and sell homes. Following the announcement, Marty Green spoke with media outlets across the country to address the settlement and its implications on the real estate and mortgage industries.
“The industry will be in transition as everyone digests the settlements and market forces begin working,” Green said. “I think we will begin to see some creative buyer’s agent arrangements that may have been harder to get traction on before. But these changes won’t happen overnight, and I anticipate a certain amount of uncertainty for the coming months. MLS rules will need to be changed, agreements will have to be modified, business practices reconsidered, and mortgage underwriting adjusted.”
Green added: “This uncertainty impacts not just the real estate community, but also consumers, as mortgage underwriting guidelines have looked at real estate commissions based on how they have historically been paid. We are still in a seller’s market, so I can envision some sellers not being prepared to pay the buyer’s side agent or limiting the amount they will pay. The question then is whether the buyer has the resources to pay the buyer’s portion of the commission. I am confident that, if the buyer is paying the commission, the amount will be more heavily negotiated and will be reduced. Realtors, though, may now require some payment upfront from the buyer since there will be increased uncertainty about how they will ultimately be paid.”
Green’s perspective was featured in coverage by over 300 media outlets, including:
- American City Business Journals: Seismic NAR lawsuit settlement will transform homebuying industry
- Axios: How the big real estate settlement will change homebuying and selling
- Chrisman Commentary: Parting With Servicing; Marty Green on the NAR Settlement; Fed Stands Pat
- Forbes Advisor: $418 Million Real Estate Industry Settlement Will Change Home Buying; Experts’ Projections Mixed
- The Hill: Realtor settlement could bring ‘seismic shift’ to housing market
- HousingWire: Chaos, consolidation and opportunity: Experts weigh in on what NAR’s settlement means for the industry
- Houston Chronicle: This $418 million settlement could change how much Houstonians pay to buy or sell a house. Here’s how.
- NBC News: What the National Association of Realtors’ settlement means for consumers and real estate brokers