For a collection of NAR Settlement Resources assembled at The Data Advocate
For details on a CID Does The DOJ Buy Into The “Practice Changes” In The Proposed NAR Settlement ?
RELATED PLEADINGS IN BROKER COMMISSION LAWSUITS
REX v NAR-DOJ Brief 6-20-24 Click Here
PLS v NAR Complaint 5-28-20 Pocket Listings – Click Here
TAN v. NAR SOI 03/13/2023 – Click Here
NOSALEK V. MLS PIN – NWMLS RESPONSE TO DOJ SOI – 03/27/24 Click Here
NOSALEK V. MLS PIN CMLS AMICUS BRIEF — Click Here
NOSALEK V. MLS PIN DOJ STATEMENT OF INTEREST (SOI) — Click Here
NAR SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT – SITZER/BURNETT — Click Here
Buyer Broker Commission Rule Lawsuits
Declarations of Realogy Officials in Broker Compensation Rule Litigation
Moehrl vs National Association of Realtors October 2020
The Moehrl Class Action Complaint
Sitzer v. NAR — First Amended NAR Complaint-Class Action
US Statement of Interest in Sitzer Antitrust Case
Order Granting Class Certification in Sitzer v. NAR
REPORTS
The Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry 1983 (Butters Report) — Click Here
COMPETITION IN REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE INDUSTRY — FTC and DOJ -2007 Click Here
The Report led to a 3 day Workshop June 2018 — Click Here includes video and transcripts
Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy
NAR FAQs –- (Paragraph 58) – Click Here
The MLS Of The Future by Saul Klein
Organized Real Estate – video by Saul Klein
Other Data Advocates Resources
Related Reading:
Two videos from NAR Chief Legal Officer and team:
https://www.nar.realtor/videos/nar-legal-team-reviews-settlement-terms-and-impact
https://www.nar.realtor/videos/nars-upcoming-practice-changes-and-recent-doj-engagement
Wall Street article July 14, 2024 —
The Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry 1983 (Butters Report) – Key Points:
Butters report 1983 — Quoting from Chapter II (3) The Pricing of Brokerage Services: “The pricing of brokerage services appears, on the surface, to present a paradox. There are so many firms in the industry and ease of entry is so simple, that coordinated price determination would seem to be very difficult. On the other hand, fee schedules often were successfully utilized by brokers’ trade associations in the past. An apparent lack of much price competition persists and uniformity in commission rates is the general rule. The one aspect of the real estate brokerage industry that may be unique, however, is the degree to which individual firms are interdependent. We believe that this interdependence may be the key to understanding the apparent paradox of pricing brokerage services.
Interdependence of brokerage firms and brokers is a function both of their need to cooperate with each other, usually through a MLS, in marketing houses and their individual incentives as established by the form of their compensation. Of homes sold through brokers, about 90 percent are listed on a MLS. Perhaps as many as 53 percent of all sales involve the services of two brokerage firms, and 66 percent of sales may involve two individual brokers or salespersons. Many observers believe that most firms, and especially small firms and new entrants, are dependent upon the MLS and cooperative sales and cannot take any risks that might lessen the cooperation they will receive.
Relevant to the current DOJ focus on the fear of steering, the Butter’s Report stated “Steering may make discount brokers less successful in selling their listings through the MLS. Alternative brokers charging less than the prevailing commission rate, therefore, may find that while competition in price facilitates the acquisition of listings, it often hampers efforts to sell those listings. This, in turn, may make price competition a potentially unsuccessful competitive strategy, and it is our belief that this is the most important factor explaining the general uniformity of commission rates in most local markets.”
Now Is The Time To Reconvene the NAR Settlement Parties
DOJ argues Optional MLS rules can represent “concerted action”
3 Responses
great collection of tools and common sense information without all the noise.
thank you so much John and Saul for this curated content that really is useful!
Welcome back, Adorna.
There are thousands of brokers/agents out in the field awaiting your message on how to enhance their negotiating skills in seller presentations and buyer presentations under the ‘new normal’ environment.
Flashing News today! Updated April 8, 2025
Roger P.Alford now working for the DOJ! — Certainly no fan of NAR and its policies.
https://www.justice.gov/atr/staff-profile/roger-alford-principal-deputy-assistant-attorney-general
Roger Alford will serve as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Mr. Alford previously served in the first Trump Administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division. Prior to returning to the division, he was a tenured Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame Law School for nearly thirteen years. During that time, he also consulted on antitrust matters, including as an expert witness in the landmark 2023 real estate $1.8 billion litigation against the National Association of Realtors, and since 2019 consulting for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas v. Google. He served as a law clerk to Judge James Buckley of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Richard Allison of the Iran- United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. He also practiced law with Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C. and was a Senior Legal Advisor to the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Activities in Zurich, Switzerland.
He earned his B.A. with Honors from Baylor University in 1985, his M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, his J.D. with Honors from New York University, and his LL.M., first in class, from Edinburgh University.