The real estate commission settlement is a package of antitrust agreements, led by the National Association of Realtors’ $418 million deal, that ended the long-standing practice of sellers automatically paying the buyer’s agent through the Multiple Listing Service. The NAR agreement received final court approval on November 27, 2024, and the rule changes it required took effect on August 17, 2024. Related settlements with major brokerages have pushed the total well past $1 billion. Payouts to class members have not yet gone out because appeals are still pending in the Eighth Circuit.
What Changed for Buyers and Sellers
The money is the headline, but the rule changes are what will actually touch your next home sale or purchase. Four of them matter:
- Multiple Listing Services can no longer display offers of compensation to buyers’ agents. Listing agents and sellers cannot advertise on the MLS what they will pay the other side. Compensation can still be negotiated, just not through the MLS.
- An agent working with a buyer must sign a written agreement with that buyer before touring any home. The agreement has to spell out the agent’s compensation in clear, objective terms. The agent cannot collect more than the amount in that agreement, even if a seller offers more.
- Written listing agreements must state conspicuously that commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable.
- MLSs, agents, and brokerages cannot filter or sort listings by the commission offered, a practice that previously made it easy to steer buyers away from lower-paying listings.
The rules apply to all NAR-affiliated MLSs nationwide and have been in force since August 17, 2024.1National Association of Realtors. NAR Practice Changes to Take Effect August 172National Association of Realtors. NAR Settlement FAQs
How the Rules Are Playing Out
Nearly two years in, the shift has been more gradual than dramatic. A Redfin study found that buyers’ agents are earning roughly the same commissions they were before August 2024, and sellers remain the primary party paying the buyer-side agent in most deals. Observers attribute the stickiness to established norms and a slow housing market that makes it hard for sellers to push costs onto buyers.3Marketplace. What Has Changed Since the Real Estate Commission Lawsuit
Transparency is where the change is most visible. Sellers now have clearer options: cover a buyer’s agent commission to attract offers, negotiate a lower rate, or decline to pay the buyer side at all. Buyers face the cost of representation up front, in writing. That has created some confusion, and some buyers have tried to go without an agent to avoid commissions, sometimes to their own disadvantage.4Yahoo Finance. NAR Settlement
Who Paid, and How Much
NAR’s $418 million is the largest single payment, but it is one of many. The underlying case, Burnett et al. v. National Association of Realtors et al., went to a Kansas City jury in October 2023 and produced a $1.78 billion verdict against NAR, Keller Williams, and HomeServices of America. Facing the prospect of trebled damages, NAR settled.5The Real Deal. Jury Finds NAR, Brokerages Guilty in Sitzer Commissions Suit2National Association of Realtors. NAR Settlement FAQs
The major brokerage settlements:
- HomeServices of America, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, agreed to $250 million on April 25, 2024. Berkshire Hathaway itself was not a party.6Courthouse News Service. Berkshire Hathaway’s Real Estate Firm to Pay $250 Million
- Anywhere Real Estate (formerly Realogy): $83.5 million.7Anywhere Real Estate. Anywhere Announces Terms of Nationwide Settlement Agreement
- Keller Williams: $70 million.8WTHR. Real Estate Commission Lawsuit Settlement Deadline
- RE/MAX: $55 million.9HousingWire. Court Grants RE/MAX’s and Anywhere’s Commission Lawsuit Settlements
- Compass: $57.5 million, part of a group of nine defendants in the follow-on Gibson case that together paid more than $110 million, with Redfin and The Real Brokerage at $9.25 million each and Douglas Elliman at $7.75 million plus up to $10 million in contingent payments.10Real Estate Commission Litigation. Gibson Settlement Information
- eXp World Holdings, Weichert, Atlanta Communities, and Mark Spain Real Estate: a combined $44.05 million in the Georgia Hooper case, approved March 31, 2026.11HousingWire. Hooper Settlements Final Approval
Through the parallel Moehrl litigation and related actions, total settlements have passed $997 million, with more than $876 million having received final approval as of mid-2026.12Cohen Milstein. Moehrl v. National Association of Realtors et al.
Who Qualifies and What You’d Receive
The class is broad. If you sold a home listed on an MLS in the United States and paid a commission to a real estate brokerage during the eligible window, you likely qualified. The window varies by state: sellers covered by the original Burnett MLSs are eligible going back to April 2014, while sellers in states added later start in 2017, 2018, or 2019. You did not need to have used a NAR-affiliated, Anywhere, RE/MAX, or Keller Williams agent to qualify.13Cohen Milstein. Order Granting Final Approval of NAR and HomeServices Settlements14Real Estate Commission Litigation. Burnett Settlement Information
The claim-filing deadline was May 9, 2025, and it has passed. JND Legal Administration is the claims administrator for the Burnett and related settlements. If you filed on time, expect a modest check: one estimate put the range at roughly $13 to $50 per claimant, reflecting the size of the class and the deductions for attorneys’ fees and administrative costs.15Real Estate Commission Litigation. NAR Settlement Information4Yahoo Finance. NAR Settlement
Why No Money Has Been Paid Yet
Payments from the Burnett and Gibson settlements are on hold. A small number of class members who objected to the terms filed appeals in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and those appeals have to resolve before any funds can be distributed.15Real Estate Commission Litigation. NAR Settlement Information
Oral arguments were held on January 14, 2026, before a three-judge panel of Judges Lavenski Smith, Ralph Erickson, and Jonathan Kobes. The hearing ran 90 minutes, and a decision is expected by late spring or early summer of 2026.16Real Estate News. Appellants Have Their Final Say About Commissions Settlements The appeals do not affect the practice changes already in force. Those remain binding whatever the Eighth Circuit does with the monetary distribution.17MetroTex Association of Realtors. Update on Sitzer-Burnett Appeals Process
The Hooper settlements in Georgia are also under appeal, with objectors challenging the deals in the Eleventh Circuit.18Nationwide Real Estate Commission Settlement. Hooper Settlement FAQ19PR Newswire. Nosalek v. MLS Property Information Network Settlement Notice20Real Estate News. DOJ Still Unhappy With Nosalek Settlement
The DOJ Is Still Pushing
The private class actions are not the only pressure on the industry. The Department of Justice has its own active interest in commission practices and has signaled that it does not consider the current settlements the end of the story. In December 2025, DOJ filed a statement of interest in Davis v. Hanna Holdings, a case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania brought by homebuyers against the parent of Howard Hanna Real Estate. The DOJ opposed the dismissal motion and argued that association rules “are not automatically exempt from the per se rule against horizontal price fixing.”21Real Estate News. DOJ Weighs in on Another Commissions Lawsuit
The practical takeaway for anyone selling or buying soon: the written buyer-agreement requirement and the end of MLS-posted compensation are not going away, and further rule changes are plausible. If you are listing a home, treat the buyer-side commission as a line item to negotiate, not a fixed cost. If you are buying, read the representation agreement before you tour, and know that what the agreement says the agent can collect is the ceiling.