It is already happening. Real estate is changing. In the wake of the Burnett case, in which recent homesellers convinced a jury that major real estate players conspired to inflate commissions, more lawsuits promise to upend the traditional practice of real estate. Major brokerages have already settled for millions of dollars, agreeing to change practices and policies. Mega MLSs are threatening to divest from the National Association of REALTORS®, driven at least in part by regulators’ scrutiny of how multiple listing services are governed.
What can you do? The first step to overcoming any challenge is to understand it. While no one can say for certain what the outcome of these lawsuits will be, this report will allow you to begin preparing your business for a new world, taking a comprehensive look at the past, present and future of these lawsuits, including:
- Examining the history of legal challenges to commission, and how brokers and agents adapted in the past
- Exploring how consumers’ understanding of the agent’s role has changed—and will further evolve—due to these lawsuits
- Examining the legal landscape that led to these changes, and what path regulators might take going forward
- Quantifying bottom-line consequences, from policy changes like decoupling of commissions, to fallout from big-dollar settlements
- And much more
If you want your business to be prepared for the myriad of changes—big and small—that are inevitably coming to the industry, you need the whole picture. This report will give you just that, allowing you to make the best decisions around fundamental changes in how real estate is practiced.
Don’t get left behind in a changing industry. Read the report today.
Editor’s note: RISMedia will periodically update this report with new developments in these investigations and litigation.
Section 1: A Path Well Trodden
How did we get here? The history of real estate commissions—and specifically, how courts and consumers have challenged them—is important to understand the current landscape.
Section 2: Current Commision Concerns
Why now? Despite the fact that much of the structure of real estate has been in place for decades, lawsuits and investigations have gained steam only in recent years.
Section 3: What’s at Stake
What will happen to real estate? It has become more and more clear the industry cannot shrug off these challenges. While there are many possibilities, not all are equally likely—or damaging.
Section 4: What to Do, What Can Be Done
What is going to happen to you? With changes both in the near and long term, your businesses will definitely be affected. How, when and where you start preparing for the future can make all the difference.