The verdict by a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, could upend decades-old practices that have allowed real estate agents to boost commissions as home prices and mortgage rates rise, hurting consumers by making housing transactions more expensive.
Plaintiffs in the class action included sellers of more than 260,000 homes in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois between 2015 and 2022, who objected to the commissions they were obligated to pay buyers' brokers.
The verdict followed a two-week trial, and the damages award can be tripled under U.S. antitrust law to more than $5.3 billion.
Shares of real estate brokerages not involved in the verdict closed lower.
Re/Max fell 4.4% and Anywhere fell 2.7%, while online brokers Zillow Group (ZG.O) and Redfin (RDFN.O) declined 6.9% and 5.7%, respectively.
Persons:
Larry Downing, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Michael Ketchmark, realty Keller Williams, Mantill Williams, HomeServices, Keller Williams, Darryl Frost, Frost, Sellers, Corcoran, Max, brokerages, Mike Scarcella, Jonathan Stempel, Lance Tupper, David Bario, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio Our
Organizations:
National Association of Realtors, REUTERS, realty, NAR, Coldwell Banker, Zillow, U.S . Department of Justice, Thomson
Locations:
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S, Warren, Kansas City , Missouri, Missouri , Kansas, Illinois, Berkshire, America, Washington, Maryland, New York