As Sitzer | Burnett trial winds down, plan for what's next

As Sitzer | Burnett trial winds down, plan for what’s next

Time Stamp: October 28, 2023 5:00 AM
Source Node: 2353429

They’ve caused an industrywide shake-up, but who are they? As part of Andrea Brambila’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial, she profiled the plaintiffs in the case, Missourians who represent some half a million homesellers alleging nearly $2 billion in damages.

The rule under scrutiny is an NAR policy known variously as the participation or cooperative compensation rule. It requires listing brokers to offer some type of compensation to buyer brokers in order to submit a listing to a Realtor-aligned MLS.

The issue here isn’t bad service; all of the plaintiffs say they were satisfied with the services of the agent they worked with. Instead, they take issue with the idea of paying a buyer’s agent to negotiate against their interests, driving up their costs and minimizing the profit on their sale.

As the jury begins to deliberate, agents and brokers are looking ahead to what’s next — and taking on some of the information that’s come out in the trial thus far. Whatever the decision in this case, there’ll be appeals and arguments along with yet another upcoming case addressing many of the same issues.

It just makes sense, then, to get ahead of some of the adjustments that may be on the horizon by examining the way you do business now, the content you’ve created and shared, along with the coaching and training materials you use. After all, the more agile and proactive you can be, the better you’ll be able to respond to whatever comes next.

58 questions agents should be asking about commission lawsuits

Broker Cara Ameer helps you think through the implications of the current bombshell commission lawsuits — from buyer breaches to payments to MLS rules (or the lack thereof) — and what they may mean for your business.

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