NAR buckles up for a new legal brouhaha as Michigan agents and brokers head to court over “compulsory” Realtor membership to access the MLS after removing “guaranteed broker commission.”
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Each week on The Download, Inman’s Christy Murdock takes a deeper look at the top-read stories of the week to give you what you’ll need to meet Monday head-on. This week: NAR buckles up for a new legal brouhaha as Michigan agents and brokers head to court over “compulsory” Realtor membership to access the MLS after removing “guaranteed broker commission.”
The March settlement by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in the commission lawsuit cases sparked a wave of outrage among real estate professionals, expressed in overheated social media posts and frustrated op-eds.
As frustration mounted with the sometimes confusing rollout of rule changes and paperwork, agents and brokers actively sought to push back against what they perceived as an unfair resolution.
In one of the bigger understatements of recent days, the American Real Estate Association (AREA), the upstart trade group headed by NYC agent Jason Haber and The Agency founder Mauricio Umansky, announced its tiered membership plan this week, aiming to offer an alternative to NAR because there is a “lot of dissatisfaction with the status quo,” according to Haber.
EXTRA: American Real Estate Association debuts membership
Coincidentally, we also heard from NAR’s interim chief Nykia Wright for the very first time this week. She defended the settlement and encouraged aggravated Realtors to bring their criticisms in-house to avoid “confusing consumers” and help NAR “be the best organization [it] can be.”
EXTRA: NAR interim CEO: Settlement was ‘unequivocally’ the right
No doubt you’re used to hearing about legal wrangling between consumers and the industry by now. Well, it seems some Realtors are taking a page out of that playbook, airing their grievances in the courtroom:
Three Michigan real estate professionals have filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit against national, state and local Realtor associations challenging the requirement that they must belong to the trade groups to access the local multiple listing service.
The two brokers and an agent filed the suit after the National Association of Realtors came to a proposed settlement of multiple antitrust lawsuits, whose rule changes the pros say will harm agents, brokers and consumers.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and names NAR, the Michigan Association of Realtors, the Grosse Pointe Board of Realtors, the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors, the North Oakland County Board of Realtors, and Michigan’s largest MLS, Realcomp II, as defendants. The filing accuses them of civil conspiracy, economic coercion and unfair restraint of trade in violation of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act and the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act.
EXTRA: A brave new world awaits the real estate industry. Are you
While Michigan Realtors vent their frustration in court and AREA adds new names to its membership roster, everybody else is just out here trying to get paid post-Aug. 17. Fortunately, from optimal mindset to practical strategies, we’re hearing from industry leaders in this week’s Download, offering insight into game-changing tech, compensation plans and new ways to prepare for the road ahead.
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