Compass agrees to pay $57.5 million to settle class action lawsuit accusing real estate brokers of conspiring to overcharge U.S. home sellers by billions of dollars, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. did.
In regulatory filings, Compass denied any wrongdoing and claimed the amount did not materially impact its operations. Authentic.
“We chose to settle to minimize distractions and allow us to focus on serving our customers and their customers,” CEO Robert Refkin said in a statement to the Post. said in an emailed statement.
A Compass spokeswoman declined further comment.
The settlement comes after the industry’s largest trade group, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), spent $418 million to resolve similar antitrust lawsuits related to high brokerage commissions by home sellers. It was held one week after.
This landmark agreement will likely transform the way Americans buy and sell homes by lowering costs and fees (typically 5% to 6%), potentially saving buyers thousands of dollars. .
Reducing costs in the home-buying process is likely to be a welcome relief for middle- and lower-class American individuals and families struggling with inflationary pressures and neighborhood affordability.
But it could also reduce revenue for traditional real estate brokerages and make employment less profitable and attractive to the more than 1 million members NAR represents.
The payment to NAR comes after a Kansas City jury ruled against NAR and two major brokerage firms in October and was ordered to award $1.8 billion in damages to the plaintiffs.
Millions of Americans who have sold their homes in recent years could receive a portion of this amount, including Compass’s latest share. But payment details remain unclear, including when and how much sellers can expect to receive these days.
Following the ruling, U.S.-based home sellers and buyers filed dozens of copycat lawsuits in Illinois, Missouri, New York and other states, naming Compass as a defendant, according to The Real Deal. .
Compass’ settlement makes it the fourth largest brokerage firm to do so, after Anywhere Real Estate, Keller Williams, and RE/MAX (which agreed to pay a total of $209 million).
All four proposed settlements are still awaiting court approval, according to The Real Deal.
Compass also committed to implementing minor practice changes, including developing training materials to support clarifying and revising commission communications to agents and customers, The Real Deal reported.
Among the agreed changes, Compass will require brokers and their agents to clearly disclose to customers that fees are negotiable and not set by law.
Compass should also specify that the services of homebuyer agents are not free and that those agents will promptly disclose offers of compensation by brokers representing sellers.
