President Donald Trump has begun his second term. All week, Inman has been digging into the administration’s housing policy, from dismantling HUD to growing antitrust issues. Read part 1 of the series here, part 2 here, part 3 here, and part 4 here.
The industry’s antitrust woes continue into 2025, with the Supreme Court’s ruling against the National Association of Realtors ending the 116-year period amid continuing disputes over the association’s boards, pocket listings, and three-party Realtor associations. This organization, which boasts a long history, has once again come under scrutiny from the Department of Justice. Agreed rules. NAR’s leadership remains steadfast despite a growing number of settlement claims and a steady stream of new lawsuits over the rules that guide its 1.5 million members.
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Pam Bondi |Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
“Although the Supreme Court ultimately decided not to review the lower court’s decision, NAR remains committed to fighting in every way possible for the interests of our members and the consumers they serve. ” a NAR spokesperson told Inman after the January 2 Supreme Court decision. 13.
The industry’s antitrust battles are far from over, but given Trump’s long career as a real estate developer, some believe the Trump administration will make moves to calm the headwinds. But his selection of Pam Bondi and Gail Slater to be his attorney general and chief of staff suggests that the upcoming legal battles may not be as easy as the Biden administration has overseen. .
Both Bondi and Slater said they would focus on antitrust enforcement, following President Trump’s promise to crack down on the nation’s biggest technology companies and force fair competition. It’s unclear whether President Trump will take the tough speech well, as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta each contributed $1 million to the presidential inaugural fund.
“When I was a student, antitrust enforcement was a top priority. [Florida] Mr. Bondi said during his confirmation hearing on January 16 that if I am confirmed as attorney general, that will be a priority. “Again, we’re very proud to have Gail Slater in charge of it. She’s loved by both sides.”
Antitrust issues continue to grow
In addition to market headwinds, the real estate industry has spent the past year navigating the impact of Sitzer | Mr. Barnett, Mr. Mehle, and several other similar lawsuits allege that the National Association of Realtors and other major real estate companies, including Anywhere, Keller Williams, and eXp Realty, illegally inflated fees through cooperative indemnification. I am doing it. This is a previous NAR rule that required listing agents to make offers. Regarding compensation for multiple listing service.
The association argued that the rule did not violate antitrust laws because the offers were as low as pennies and were always negotiable. Despite NAR’s best efforts, the jury sided with the plaintiffs in Sitzer | Barnett awarded $1.8 million in damages in October 2023, but that amount could have been tripled to $5.8 million. NAR initially promised to appeal the ruling. However, preserving the association’s financial health meant that a settlement was the best option.
kevin sears
“We have always wanted to relieve significant burdens on our members and provide a path forward for our industry,” NAR Chairman Kevin Sears said in March. “Therefore, today we are announcing a proposed settlement agreement that ends claims litigation brought on behalf of home sellers related to brokerage commissions. The settlement is subject to court approval.”
NAR negotiated a $418 million settlement that included rescinding an offer of compensation from MLS and requiring buyer agents to sign a contract with buyers before viewing a property. Although the policy changes began rolling out in August, Judge Stephen R. Baugh of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri gave final approval to the settlement in November. According to a previous Inman article, NAR plans to pay the first $197 million of the settlement in the first quarter of 2025.
The NAR settlement applies to all state and local real estate agent organizations, all multiple listing services owned by real estate agent associations, and all brokerages principally NAR members with less than $2 billion in 2022 residential transaction volume. Targeted at businesses.
“NAR, HomeServices, brokers, and the MLSs that opted into NAR’s transaction agreed to pay just under $700 million in settlements. Real estate agency related ML $250 million from HomeServices and nearly $30.6 million from 15 non-real estate agent MLSs and 13 major brokerages,” a previous Inman article said. It was explained. “This amount does not include more than $300 million in settlements from other companies, including RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and Anywhere.”
Despite the increasing number of settlement appeals and the Department of Justice’s dissatisfaction with the buyer agreement, disputes over cooperation compensation are moving away from the spotlight as NAR’s clear cooperation policy and tripartite agreement gain attention. Clear Collaboration requires listing agents to list homes on real estate agent-affiliated MLSs the day after a home is publicly sold. Tripartite agreements also require agents and brokers to participate in local, state, and national real estate agent associations to qualify for membership. These NAR affiliates are now the target of industry insiders who claim both requirements violate antitrust laws.
NAR declined to directly address the Clear Collaboration at the NXT conference and postponed any decision to maintain, amend or abolish the agreement until 2025. NAR CEO Nikia Wright said the group will abide by the tripartite agreement, and this commitment has been proven so far. The battle with Phoenix Realtors over MLS Choice membership is heating up.
Will the industry take a break?
Although NAR appears willing to fight further antitrust litigation, its weakened financial resources mean that another antitrust lawsuit could force it into bankruptcy, and buyers・An option granted by NAR shortly after announcing the broker fee settlement was on the table. “Chapter 11 would have also suspended the case against NAR, but the other defendants in the cooperative compensation case were not stayed,” they told Inman.
After the onslaught of legal troubles mentioned above, some industry insiders are hopeful that President Trump will usher in friendlier times. President Trump has not made clear his stance on antitrust issues plaguing the industry. But experts say there are more signs that the Trump administration is taking a tougher stance on the industry than the Biden administration.
“In 2020, the last full year of the former Trump administration, [Consumer Financial Protection] The department took 48 enforcement actions. So far this year, it has yielded only 21 cases,” former CFPB Executive Deputy Director Jeff Ehrlich told HousingWire. “If history is any guide, the second Trump administration may not be as industry-friendly as many expect.”
Vice President J.D. Vance is an avid supporter of antitrust enforcement and praises the efforts of current Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan. “I consider Lina Khan to be one of the few people in the Biden administration that I actually think is doing a pretty good job, and that makes me stand out from my Republican colleagues,” Vance said in February. I can say that I have set myself apart from the majority.”
Mr. Vance was also involved in Mr. Trump’s selection of Gale Slater, head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division. Slater, a former Roch & Fox executive, served as a high-tech policy advisor to the National Economic Council during President Trump’s first term and also served as a policy advisor to Vance. If confirmed, she would work with Mr. Bondi to oversee antitrust activity.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he expects Slater to crack down on the nation’s biggest technology companies and force “strong and fair” competition. President Trump hasn’t said which tech companies are in the spotlight as he makes and backtracks on promises to jail Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and support banning TikTok. .
“Big Tech has been on a rampage for years, stifling competition in our country’s most innovative sectors, and, as we all know, using its market power to control not only the rights of Little Tech but also many ” he said. “In her new role, [Slater] This will help ensure that our competition laws are strongly and fairly enforced, with clear rules that encourage, rather than stifle, the ingenuity of our great companies. ”
It’s unclear whether President Trump expects Bondi and Slater to police the housing industry in the same way they police the tech industry, but Markus Stabkow, managing attorney at Stabkow Law Group, told HousingWire that Affordability President Trump’s campaign promise to do so is likely to lean toward antitrust law, he said. Execution.
“Previously, when the Trump administration reached a settlement with NAR, things had calmed down a little bit,” he said. “There was no ongoing antitrust litigation or jury verdict in Missouri, so the industry was more normal and pretty much everything was very stable and static.”
“Obviously, the landscape has changed dramatically. The industry is now in disarray, creating confusion for consumers virtually across the United States and creating even more antitrust problems for businesses and consumers. “It’s just that,” he added.
“I think there could be more. [enforcement]. I think we’re going to see fairer lending and fairer housing enforcement, especially when it comes to real estate commission pricing, but no one in the industry knows how to do that because there’s no data on how current policy will play out. I don’t want it. It changes on the fly. ”
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