Real Estate Lawsuit: Settlements, New Rules, and Seller Claims

The real estate commission lawsuit is a sprawling antitrust fight over how buyers’ agents get paid, and as of mid-2026 it has produced more than $1 billion in settlements, sweeping rule changes that took effect on August 17, 2024, and an Eighth Circuit appeal that is currently blocking any money from reaching home sellers who filed claims. A separate buyer-side case is still open, with a claim deadline of August 25, 2026.

What the Lawsuit Is About

The case that started everything, Burnett et al. v. National Association of Realtors et al. (Case No. 19-CV-00332-SRB), was filed in 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.1United States District Court, Western District of Missouri. Burnett et al v. National Association of Realtors et al, Case No. 19-cv-332 A class of home sellers argued that NAR’s rules effectively forced them to pay the commission of the buyer’s agent through cooperative compensation requirements built into Multiple Listing Services. In October 2023, a Missouri jury agreed and returned a verdict that would have required NAR and the defendant brokerages to pay at least $1.8 billion in damages.2The New York Times. NAR Settlement Realtors Commission

Facing the threat of trebled antitrust damages, NAR and the major brokerages chose to settle rather than fight. On March 15, 2024, NAR agreed to pay $418 million over four years and to overhaul industry practices.3National Association of Realtors. What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers Judge Stephen R. Bough granted final approval on November 26, 2024.4National Association of Realtors. Oral Arguments in Sitzer Burnett Settlement Appeal Begin Wednesday

Who Settled and for How Much

NAR’s $418 million deal was the headline, but more than a dozen brokerages reached their own agreements with the plaintiff class across the Burnett, Gibson, and related cases. By mid-2026, settlements with final court approval totaled roughly $1.049 billion.5Hagens Berman. Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust The largest included:

On February 6, 2026, Judge Bough approved an additional $42 million deal covering William Raveis Real Estate, Hanna Holdings, Windermere, Exit Realty, and William L. Lyon & Associates.5Hagens Berman. Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust A parallel Georgia case, 1925 Hooper LLC v. NAR, produced another $44.05 million in settlements that received final approval on March 31, 2026, including $34 million from eXp World Holdings and $8.5 million from Weichert.9HousingWire. Hooper Settlements Final Approval

How the Rules Changed on August 17, 2024

The most immediate real-world effect of the settlements was a set of mandatory practice changes that took effect on August 17, 2024.3National Association of Realtors. What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers Two of them changed every residential transaction in the country.

Offers of broker compensation can no longer appear on NAR-affiliated Multiple Listing Services. Sellers may still offer to pay a buyer’s agent, but that offer has to happen outside the MLS. MLS participants are also forbidden from filtering or excluding listings based on whether compensation is offered.10National Association of Realtors. NAR Settlement FAQs

Any agent working with a buyer through an MLS must now sign a written buyer-broker agreement before touring a home. The agreement has to state the agent’s compensation in specific, objective terms, cannot be open-ended, and must include a statement that broker fees are fully negotiable and not set by law. It also caps what the agent can collect from any source at the amount the buyer agreed to, so an agent cannot pocket more from a seller than the buyer authorized.3National Association of Realtors. What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers

What Has Actually Happened to Commissions

The rules were supposed to push commission rates down. Nearly two years in, the picture is mixed.

A May 2025 Redfin report found national average buyer’s agent commission rates have barely moved. In the first quarter of 2024, before the rules were announced, the average was 2.43%. By the third quarter of 2024, when the rules took effect, it dipped to 2.36%. By the first quarter of 2025, it had edged back up to 2.40%.11Redfin. Real Estate Commissions Rates on homes above $1 million dropped modestly to 2.17%, while rates on homes under $500,000 ticked up slightly to 2.49%.12The Mortgage Point. Measuring the Impact of NAR Settlements on Agent Commissions

A Federal Reserve research note published the same month documented a “consistent and widespread but modest” decline from about 3% in the late 1990s to roughly 2.7% by 2025. Researchers attributed more than half of the drop to rising home prices rather than competitive pressure or the new rules. They also found that despite the MLS ban on advertising commissions, listing agents have “found ways of sharing information on commission rate offers outside of the MLS.”13Federal Reserve. Commissions and Omissions: Trends in Real Estate Broker Compensation

Most sellers still pay the buyer’s agent. A Redfin-commissioned Ipsos survey from early 2025 found that only about 37% of sellers and 27% of buyers had tried to negotiate their agent’s commission.11Redfin. Real Estate Commissions

Why No Seller Has Been Paid Yet

Final approval of the Burnett and Gibson settlements did not end the fight. Within days of the November 2024 approval, objectors filed appeals with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The challengers included sellers in the settlement class, a law professor, and a plaintiff from the separate Batton homebuyer case.4National Association of Realtors. Oral Arguments in Sitzer Burnett Settlement Appeal Begin Wednesday

Objectors argued that plaintiffs lacked standing, that the payouts amounted to “pennies-on-the-dollar” for a nationwide class, and that the deal improperly forced homebuyers to release their own separate claims.7Bloomberg Law. Huge Realtor Settlement Appeals Get Probed for Fairness, Scope A three-judge panel heard roughly 90 minutes of oral arguments on January 14, 2026, and asked few questions.14Real Estate News. Appellants Have Their Final Say About Commissions Settlements NAR’s attorney told the panel that NAR “lacked the resources to pay even the Burnett judgment,” making a negotiated resolution necessary.15Court Listener. Rhonda Burnett v. Spring Way Center, LLC Oral Argument

A ruling is expected by late spring or early summer 2026.14Real Estate News. Appellants Have Their Final Say About Commissions Settlements The official settlement website states that benefits cannot be distributed until the appeals are resolved, and no timeline exists for that resolution.16Real Estate Commission Litigation Settlements. Burnett Settlement Information

If You Sold a Home: What a Claim Is Worth

The seller-side settlements covered anyone who sold a home listed on an MLS in the United States and paid a commission to a real estate brokerage during the eligible date range. Sellers did not need to have used an agent affiliated with a settling defendant to qualify, and a single claim form through the official settlement portal covered every settlement a claimant was eligible for.17ClassAction.org. Real Estate Broker Commissions Settlement

The primary claim deadline passed on May 9, 2025, for most settlements. A later deadline of December 30, 2025, applied to the William Raveis, Howard Hanna, Exit, Windermere, Lyon, and several smaller brokerage settlements.18Real Estate Commission Litigation Settlements. Real Estate Commission Litigation Settlements As of early May 2024, fewer than 200,000 claims had been filed out of roughly 30 million notices distributed.19Real Estate News. Judge Explains the Why of Rulings on Settlements, Attorney Fees

Individual payouts will be small. One estimate placed the per-claimant amount at roughly $50, with some projections as low as $13 after attorneys’ fees and administration costs.20Yahoo Finance. NAR Settlement No distributions have been made from the Burnett or Gibson settlements because the Eighth Circuit appeals have frozen the process.16Real Estate Commission Litigation Settlements. Burnett Settlement Information

If You Bought a Home: The Batton Case Is Still Open

Buyers have their own lawsuit. In Batton et al. v. The National Association of Realtors et al. (Case No. 21 C 430, Northern District of Illinois), a class of home purchasers alleges the cooperative compensation system inflated home prices to cover unnecessary commissions.21Home Buyer Litigation. Batton v. NAR Settlement Information

Keller Williams and RE/MAX reached a combined $28.5 million settlement with the Batton class in early 2026. A settlement hearing is scheduled for July 28, 2026, and the claim-filing deadline is August 25, 2026. The eligible class includes anyone who purchased residential real estate listed on an MLS in the United States between the start of a state-specific statutory period (as early as 2006 in some states) and April 14, 2026.21Home Buyer Litigation. Batton v. NAR Settlement Information NAR and Anywhere Real Estate remain named defendants in Batton and have not settled.

Separately, a federal judge in Missouri ruled in April 2024 that brokerages including Compass and Redfin must face a class action by buyers alleging price-fixing of commissions, denying the companies’ motion to dismiss.22Reuters. Home Brokerages Compass, Redfin, Others Must Face Buyers Price-Fixing Lawsuit And the original Moehrl v. NAR case (No. 1:19-cv-01610, Northern District of Illinois) continues against NAR and HomeServices of America on behalf of a certified class, with no trial date yet.23Real Estate Commission Litigation Settlements. Moehrl Class Notice The commission fight is not over.