The National Association of Realtors settlement remains in limbo as of mid-2026: the $418 million agreement received final approval on November 27, 2024, and its rule changes took effect nationwide on August 17, 2024, but no money has been distributed to home sellers because multiple appeals are pending before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral argument on those appeals took place on January 7, 2026, with a ruling not expected before at least spring 2026.1HousingWire. Appeal Hearing Threatens NAR Settlement, Raising Industry Uncertainty
Where the Claims Process Stands
The class covers home sellers who listed a property on an MLS anywhere in the United States, sold during the eligible date range, and paid a commission to a real estate brokerage. The deadline to submit a claim was May 9, 2025. Claims went through the settlement website or by mail to JND Legal Administration.2Real Estate Commission Litigation. NAR Settlement FAQ
If you filed a claim, expect to wait. No payments can go out until the Eighth Circuit resolves the pending appeals, and there is no public timeline for when that will happen.3Real Estate Commission Litigation. NAR Settlement Per-person payout estimates have not been published either. Individual shares will depend on how many approved claims there are and on a distribution plan that still needs court approval.4Real Estate Commission Litigation. Settlement FAQ
If you missed the May 2025 deadline, you cannot file now. The claims window has closed.
The Appeals That Could Change Everything
Two appeals are the main threat to the settlement as approved. Both were argued together before the Eighth Circuit on January 7, 2026.
The Monestier Objection
Tanya Monestier, a law professor at the University at Buffalo, filed a 136-page objection in the trial court and carried it up on appeal. She raises three main arguments. First, she contends the named plaintiffs, who were past home sellers, lacked standing to pursue the forward-looking practice changes, meaning the court had no jurisdiction to approve those provisions. Second, she alleges the trial judge improperly outsourced the drafting of the final approval order and the $333 million attorney-fee award to the plaintiffs’ lawyers before the fairness hearing. Third, she argues the consumer protections in the settlement are inadequate and the judge failed to meaningfully address her detailed objections.5University at Buffalo School of Law. Monestier NAR Settlement Appeal She is asking the Eighth Circuit to invalidate the settlement entirely, or on the ghostwriting claim, to send the case back to a different judge.
The Mullis Appeal
James Mullis, a plaintiff in a separate homebuyer commission lawsuit, objected to the breadth of the settlement’s release language. He argues it is vague enough to potentially extinguish the claims of homebuyers in other pending lawsuits, even though buyers were never part of the seller class action. Seller and buyer cases have been litigated as distinct actions with separate classes, separate courts, and separate claims, and buyer plaintiffs were never consulted on the settlement terms.6HousingWire. Batton Plaintiff Appeals NAR Settlement Approval Mullis sought a court order clarifying that the settlement does not release homebuyer claims.7U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Amicus Brief, Gibson v. National Association of Realtors
What Happens If the Settlement Is Vacated
NAR has told the appeals court that paying significantly more would “probably bankrupt” the trade association.1HousingWire. Appeal Hearing Threatens NAR Settlement, Raising Industry Uncertainty If the Eighth Circuit vacates the settlement, the parties would likely be forced back into negotiations, and the practice changes already implemented could face an uncertain future. Both the monetary payouts and the rules themselves could be thrown back into question.
The Rule Changes That Already Took Effect
Regardless of how the appeals turn out, the two biggest structural changes have been in force since August 17, 2024.8National Association of Realtors. NAR Settlement FAQs
Listing agents and sellers can no longer advertise buyer-agent compensation through MLS listings. All broker compensation fields and related data were stripped from the MLS. MLSs are also prohibited from creating or supporting any workaround platforms for sharing compensation offers, and listings cannot be filtered based on the level of compensation offered.9National Association of Realtors. NAR Practice Changes to Take Effect August 17
Any agent working with a buyer must now sign a written agreement before showing properties, in person or via live virtual tour. The agreement has to spell out the agent’s compensation in specific, objectively ascertainable terms, meaning a flat fee, a percentage, or an hourly rate, and it cannot be open-ended. It must state that commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable, and it must cap the agent’s total compensation at whatever figure the buyer agreed to.10National Association of Realtors. Written Buyer Agreements 101
Sellers may still choose to pay the buyer’s agent. The settlement did not prohibit that arrangement. But the offer cannot be broadcast through the MLS. Compensation discussions now happen off-platform, through direct negotiation.11National Association of Realtors. Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements Some states have layered additional requirements on top. California’s Assembly Bill 2992, effective January 1, 2025, extended buyer-broker agreement requirements to all property types (not just MLS-listed homes) and imposed a three-month limit on the duration of such agreements.12Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. California’s New Requirements for Buyer-Broker Representation Agreements
What Has Happened to Commissions
More than a year after the practice changes took effect, commission rates have barely moved. Redfin data shows the average buyer’s agent commission was 2.40% in the first quarter of 2025, compared with 2.36% when the new rules took effect in the third quarter of 2024, and 2.43% in the first quarter of 2024, before the settlement was announced.13Redfin. Real Estate Commissions
The picture varies by price tier. For homes priced at $1 million and above, buyer-agent commissions dipped to 2.17% in early 2025, down from 2.30% a year earlier. For homes under $500,000, commissions actually ticked up slightly, to 2.49% from 2.42% when the rules kicked in.14The Mortgage Point. Measuring the Impact of NAR Settlements on Agent Commissions
Most sellers continue to pay buyer-agent commissions, though agents report more sellers are now offering around 2% rather than the traditional 2.5% to 3% range. A Redfin-commissioned survey from spring 2025 found only about 37% of sellers and 27% of buyers tried to negotiate their agent’s commission, while roughly 46% of sellers and 48% of buyers did not attempt to negotiate at all.13Redfin. Real Estate Commissions Some agents have begun experimenting with flat-fee or unbundled service models, but the industry has been slow to shift away from percentage-based pricing.15Kiplinger. Landmark Real Estate Commission Settlement: Why Costs Haven’t Dropped
Related Settlements That May Affect Your Situation
The NAR settlement is one piece of a wider web of real estate antitrust cases producing over $1 billion in settlements.16Real Estate Commission Litigation. Real Estate Commission Litigation Settlements A few directly touch on what home sellers and buyers can expect.
Gibson: Also on Hold
A second wave of brokerages settled seller-side claims for a combined $110 million, with an additional $10 million in contingent payments possible. Those defendants include Compass ($57.5 million), Redfin ($9.25 million), Douglas Elliman ($7.75 million guaranteed), The Real Brokerage ($9.25 million), Engel & Völkers ($6.9 million), @properties ($6.5 million), Realty ONE Group ($5 million), HomeSmart ($4.7 million), and United Real Estate ($3.75 million). Final approval was granted on November 4, 2024, but those settlements are also on hold pending appeals filed in December 2024.17Real Estate Commission Litigation. Gibson Settlements
Earlier settlements from the original named defendants received final court approval on May 9, 2024, and HomeServices of America, the last major brokerage to settle in that round, agreed to pay $250 million.18Forbes. Warren Buffett’s Real Estate Company Will Pay $250 Million in Antitrust Settlement
Tuccori and Batton: The Homebuyer Track
Home sellers were the class in the NAR case. Home buyers have a separate track. In Tuccori et al. v. At World Properties, buyers allege the same industry practices inflated the commissions they effectively paid. Six related cases were consolidated into Tuccori in October 2025.19Real Estate News. Batton Plaintiffs Call Foul on Anywhere End-Run
NAR was not an original defendant in Tuccori but opted into the settlement process in April 2026 to try to reach a comprehensive resolution of buyer claims. NAR agreed to pay $52.25 million into the settlement fund over several years, with most payments beginning after June 2028. A federal judge granted preliminary approval on May 26, 2026. If finalized, the settlement would release NAR members, state and local Realtor associations, and qualifying brokerages from buyer-side liability.20Florida Realtors. NAR Reaches Settlement in Buyer Lawsuit HomeServices of America also opted in, contributing $30 million, and four other firms including Anywhere Real Estate added $10.8 million collectively. A federal judge granted preliminary approval to $106 million in total Tuccori opt-in settlements on May 29, 2026.21HousingWire. Keller Williams Batton Settlement
The separate Batton case, originally filed in 2021, also makes buyer-side claims. Keller Williams settled Batton for $20 million in early 2026, and RE/MAX followed with an $8.5 million settlement in April 2026.22RESPAnews. NAR Settlement News NAR remains a defendant in Batton and has said it is “actively engaged” in the defense, while pursuing resolution through Tuccori.21HousingWire. Keller Williams Batton Settlement The Batton plaintiffs have pushed back on the Tuccori opt-in mechanism, filing a motion to intervene in February 2026 and calling the arrangement a potential “reverse auction” that lets defendants settle their claims cheaply in a different court.19Real Estate News. Batton Plaintiffs Call Foul on Anywhere End-Run
Nosalek in Massachusetts
In a regional case, Nosalek v. MLS Property Information Network, a Massachusetts MLS agreed to pay $3.95 million and eliminate buyer-broker compensation fields from its platform. A federal judge granted final approval on September 29, 2025, after the Department of Justice intervened to push for complete removal of compensation data rather than allowing $0 offers.23Real Estate News. Judge Approves MLS PIN Deal Plagued by Delays, DOJ Scrutiny
DOJ Pressure Is Not Winding Down
Federal antitrust attention on real estate commissions has continued in parallel with the private litigation. In January 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear NAR’s challenge to a D.C. Circuit ruling that allows federal investigators to reopen their antitrust probe into broker commissions. NAR had argued the investigation violated a 2020 settlement, but the DOJ withdrew from that agreement in 2021 to pursue a broader inquiry.24Reuters. US Supreme Court Won’t Hear Challenge to DOJ Real Estate Probe
In December 2025, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division filed a Statement of Interest in Davis v. Hanna Holdings, a commission case in Pennsylvania, arguing that NAR’s rules are “not automatically exempt from the per se rule against horizontal price fixing.” Abigail Slater, the assistant attorney general leading the division, said “antitrust laws are key to safeguarding competition, which reduces prices and improves services for homebuyers.”25Real Estate News. DOJ Weighs In on Another Commissions Lawsuit
The DOJ has also made clear that participating in any system that broadcasts compensation offers could expose MLSs and individual licensees to fresh antitrust liability, whether or not they are NAR members.26Mississippi Realtors Institute. NAR Settlement Key Changes For agents and brokerages, the settlement release does not cover individual disputes between a client and their own agent, so claims for breach of contract, fiduciary duty, malpractice, or negligence remain live.27NEI Relo. NAR Lawsuit Update: What to Know
The industry sits in an unusual position as of mid-2026: the practice changes are already in force and being enforced, but the settlement that mandated them is not yet final. Watch the Eighth Circuit for a ruling on the Monestier and Mullis appeals, expected no earlier than spring 2026, before expecting movement on payouts.