NAR Settlement – What Does This Mean for Bozeman Real Estate?

There has been a lot of discussion since the National Associate of Realtors (NAR) announced their settlement. It sent the media and real estate world abuzz with speculation on what this means for home buyers, sellers, and agents nationwide and here in Bozeman. To get a better understanding of the situation, let's take a look at the current facts.

• Realtor commissions have averaged between 5.5-6% for decades in the U.S, split between buyer and seller agents
• Several class-action lawsuits have been brought against NAR across the country over the past few years regarding commissions 
• On March 22, NAR reached a settlement to end the ongoing litigation. Under the settlement, NAR will pay $418 million over four years 
• As part of the settlement, agents will not be allowed to advertise an offer of compensation to buyer agents on MLS
• The agreement doesn’t bar seller agents from advertising buyer broker commissions on other platforms. Consumers can continue to have cooperative compensations as an option, it just can’t be advertised on MLS
• The settlement is waiting for court approval and once it does the agreement will bring changes, effective August 17, 2024
• MLS agents working with buyers must enter into a written representation agreement with the buyers before showing properties. Compensation will need to be handled directly between all parties for each transaction

Many unknowns exist about how this will unfold and what this will mean for the real estate industry. The one thing we do know is changes are coming and time will tell how it impacts real estate in Bozeman and across the country. Click here for information on why offering a buyer's agent commission could still be advantageous to sellers. 

Have questions? Contact us and we'll do our best to get you answers!

We will update this post as we receive new information.