A jury found Tuesday that real-estate agents and brokerages kept their commissions artifically high. The verdict, she added, is "a wake-up call for real-estate agents." The seller might no longer pay out both agents' commissions after the sale closes. Currently, home sellers often list their properties for higher sums because they expect to pay broker fees. AdvertisementAdvertisement"NAR and corporate real-estate companies have had a stranglehold on real-estate commissions for too long," the plaintiffs' lawyer, Michael Ketchmark, said outside the courtroom Tuesday, according to the Journal.

---

Persons: brokerages, —, Sissy Lappin, James Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Bernstein, Keller Williams, Michael Ketchmark Organizations: Service, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Wall Street, Keller, Keller Williams Realty Locations: Houston , Texas, Midwest