The realtor class action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors and major brokerages produced roughly $900 million in settlements over claims that home sellers were forced to overpay commissions, but as of 2026 no money has been distributed because appeals are still pending.1Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements. Burnett Settlement Information All claim filing deadlines have passed. The settlements also forced structural changes to how commissions work, and those rules are already in effect for every buyer and seller in the country.
What the Lawsuits Claimed
Home sellers alleged that NAR rules required listing brokers to offer compensation to buyer brokers as a condition of listing a property on a Multiple Listing Service. The result, plaintiffs said, was that sellers paid for the buyer’s agent whether they wanted to or not, with little practical ability to negotiate that cost down. The claims were brought under the Sherman Act, the federal antitrust law that prohibits agreements among competitors to fix prices or restrain trade.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1 – Trusts, etc., in Restraint of Trade Illegal
The lead case, Burnett v. NAR, went to trial in a Missouri federal court, where a jury found that NAR and several major brokerages conspired to inflate commission costs.3United States Courts. Burnett et al v. National Association of Realtors et al A parallel case, Moehrl v. NAR, raised similar claims in Illinois and remains active against defendants who have not settled.4U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. RE/MAX Holdings Inc 10-K – Section: 13. Commitments and Contingencies
Who Settled and for How Much
NAR agreed to pay $418 million over four years, the largest of the settlements.5National Association of REALTORS. The Truth About the NAR Settlement Agreement Major brokerages settled separately:
- HomeServices of America (a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary): $250 million
- Anywhere Real Estate, formerly Realogy, parent of Coldwell Banker and Century 21: $83.5 million
- Keller Williams: $70 million
- RE/MAX: $55 million
Smaller brokerages including Compass, Redfin, Douglas Elliman, Howard Hanna, William Raveis, and Windermere have also reached their own settlements.6Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements. Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements The funds are shared among potentially millions of eligible home sellers, so individual payments will be modest relative to the headline numbers. Legal fees and administrative costs come out of the fund before any distribution.
Who Qualified
Eligibility required three things: you sold a home during the applicable date range, the home was listed on an MLS anywhere in the United States, and you paid a commission to a real estate brokerage in connection with the sale.1Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements. Burnett Settlement Information You did not need to have worked with a specific defendant’s agent. The eligible date ranges varied by settlement. Only residential sales were covered.
Where the Money Stands
The court granted final approval to the Anywhere, RE/MAX, and Keller Williams settlements on May 9, 2024. The NAR and HomeServices settlements received final approval on November 27, 2024.7Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements. NAR Settlement Home Some class members who objected filed appeals with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals beginning May 31, 2024. No money can be distributed until those appeals are resolved, and there is no public timeline for resolution.1Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements. Burnett Settlement Information
Once appeals are done, the settlement administrator will propose a plan of allocation to the court. That plan will be posted on the official settlement website, with an opportunity to object. Each person’s share will likely be based on the commission they paid during the eligible period, reduced pro-rata if claims exceed the available funds.8Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements. Frequently Asked Questions
Claim and Opt-Out Deadlines Have Passed
The deadline for most settlements was May 9, 2025. Later-added defendants, including William Raveis, Howard Hanna, and Windermere, had a December 30, 2025 deadline.6Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements. Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements If you did not file a claim, you will not receive a payment. The opt-out deadline for the NAR and HomeServices settlements was October 28, 2024; anyone who neither filed a claim nor opted out gave up the right to sue NAR or HomeServices over the same issues.7Residential Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Settlements. NAR Settlement Home
If you filed a claim and are waiting, the settlement administrator can be reached at 1-888-995-0207 or info@RealEstateCommissionLitigation.com. The authorized website is realestatecommissionlitigation.com. Legitimate settlement administrators never charge a fee to file or release a claim, so treat any such request as a scam.
Payments Will Be Taxable
When payments arrive, they will likely count as taxable income. The IRS treats settlement proceeds as taxable under IRC Section 61 unless a specific exclusion applies, and the main exclusion under Section 104(a)(2) only covers damages for physical injuries or physical sickness.9Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments An antitrust recovery over commission overcharges does not qualify. If your payment exceeds $600, expect a Form 1099-MISC.
The Commission Rule Changes That Already Affect You
For most buyers and sellers in 2026, the money is a sideshow. The rule changes are what actually matter. They took effect on August 17, 2024.
MLS platforms can no longer include offers of compensation to buyer brokers. Before the settlement, a listing agent typically advertised a commission split on the MLS, which effectively committed the seller to pay the buyer’s agent. That is now prohibited. Sellers can still choose to pay a buyer’s agent outside the MLS, and they can offer buyer concessions on the MLS such as help with closing costs, but the automatic commission-sharing mechanism is gone.10National Association of REALTORS. What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers NAR’s updated MLS policy, effective January 1, 2026, reinforces the ban by prohibiting any MLS from facilitating a platform for compensation offers to buyer brokers.11National Association of REALTORS. No Compensation Offers in MLS – Section 1
For buyers, the most visible change is the written buyer-broker agreement. Before touring a home, your agent must have you sign an agreement that spells out what you will pay. The agreement must include a specific compensation amount, stated as a flat fee, percentage, or hourly rate and not left open-ended; a cap so the agent cannot receive more from any source than the agreement specifies; and a conspicuous statement that broker fees are fully negotiable and not set by law.10National Association of REALTORS. What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers
Buyers who previously never thought about what their agent cost them now have to confront that number before the relationship starts. Shopping around for representation is now realistic in a way it wasn’t before.
Cases Still in Progress
The settlements resolved claims against NAR, HomeServices, Anywhere, RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and a growing list of smaller brokerages. The Moehrl case and related litigation continue against defendants who have not settled.4U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. RE/MAX Holdings Inc 10-K – Section: 13. Commitments and Contingencies Those cases could produce additional settlements or go to trial. If you sold a home and were not covered by the current settlements, a future action could still reach you. The official settlement website is where new defendants and deadlines are posted as they are added.