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Understanding the

NAR Lawsuit Settlement

What You Need to Know

In March 2024, in response to a pending lawsuit judgment against them, the National Association of Realtors® released a set of proposed policy and practice changes that will reframe the relationship between real estate professionals and buyers. To be clear, the industry’s fiduciary commitment to the best interests of clients hasn’t changed, but the way agents and buyer clients formalize professional relationships will.

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Changes to the Homebuying Experience

As a homebuyer, this proposed settlement means there will be some changes to your real estate experience:

1. Required Buyer Agreements

Prior to this settlement proposal, it was acceptable (though not widely practiced) for buyer’s agents to forge relatively informal, unwritten agreements with their clients regarding service. Following these proposed changes, buyers must sign a service agreement with a real estate professional in order to be shown homes. 

2. Buyer’s Agent Compensation

Prior to the proposed changes in the settlement, buyer’s agents were compensated via a cooperation agreement with the seller and seller’s agent facilitated by the multiple listing service. While this sort of cooperation is still allowed, the MLS is no longer allowed to coordinate it. Buyer’s agents will now be responsible for negotiating their own compensation with clients.

FAQ

As a homebuyer, these changes will require new, important conversations between you and your real estate professional. A buyer service agreement will formalize your agent’s fiduciary responsibility to you, further protecting your interests. It will allow the opportunity for real, transparent communication with your agent around compensation, offering you a clear understanding of the cost of services and how those services benefit you. 

These conversations will ultimately set buyers up for greater success in their transactions. More buyers will start the home search process with a clear understanding of their strategy, how their agent will support them, and what it will take to get to the closing table. 

Two major changes: First, compensation offers to buyer’s agents will no longer be displayed on the MLS, and the MLS won’t be allowed to facilitate commission cooperation between the buy and sell sides of transactions. Second, all buyers will be required to sign a buyer agreement with their agent outlining service terms, including commission requirements.

Yes. Luxury Presence has created a strategy guide for agents seeking advice on negotiating buy-side compensation. Get your copy of The Future of Buy-Side Compensation here

The best agents have shifted their thinking from the top line to the bottom line. They're obsessed with the client experience. They're taking action very quickly to level up the technology in their businesses because they understand it's the only way to deliver strong profitability and a world-class client experience.

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How I Work With Buyers

As my client, you can expect nothing but the highest level of service and counsel. I take my fiduciary commitment to you extremely seriously and believe that the best way to advocate for your best interests is through preparation. For each property my clients consider, I create a complete set of market research, potential pricing and offer strategies, contract negotiation tactics, and more.

Before the NAR lawsuit settlement proposal, some buyer’s agents were able to get away with doing the bare minimum. Thanks to assumed cooperation with the seller, they might get paid for simply showing up, unlocking doors, and pushing papers. 

While that was never my approach, it is now no longer the world we live in. As my client, you can rest assured that I will provide you with expert-level service and advice throughout our professional relationship.

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"From Virginia, to Maryland, to D.C., there are so many different types of neighborhoods, and Corcoran McEnearney knows how to bring them all together. We know how to show things that are sophisticated, but we make it approachable. When I think about the ways that Corcoran McEnearney has helped me with my business, I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for them. I feel successful every single day when I wake up, because I know that I have a group behind me that’s helping me to hustle. I hustle every single day because I know that there are other agents out there, particularly in my firm, who are also hustling, and we support each other."
"From Virginia, to Maryland, to D.C., there are so many different types of neighborhoods, and Corcoran McEnearney knows how to bring them all together. We know how to show things that are sophisticated, but we make it approachable. When I think about the ways that Corcoran McEnearney has helped me with my business, I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for them. I feel successful every single day when I wake up, because I know that I have a group behind me that’s helping me to hustle. I hustle every single day because I know that there are other agents out there, particularly in my firm, who are also hustling, and we support each other."
Mackenzie H.
"Okay, so one of the things that I absolutely love is that this is the first time in any business that I’ve ever been in that you sort of have this onboarding process, and what that looks like is, you know, like a lifestyle video issue. I thought it was gonna be 30 minutes. You do a headshot and you’re completely done. I spent hours like changing outfits, you know, talking to the photographer, talking to the producer, talking to all of these different people who are really focused on making me look good as I walk into the door at Corcoran McEnearney, making sure that my brand is on point, making sure they’re able to capture who I am, and that is so exciting for me."
"Okay, so one of the things that I absolutely love is that this is the first time in any business that I’ve ever been in that you sort of have this onboarding process, and what that looks like is, you know, like a lifestyle video issue. I thought it was gonna be 30 minutes. You do a headshot and you’re completely done. I spent hours like changing outfits, you know, talking to the photographer, talking to the producer, talking to all of these different people who are really focused on making me look good as I walk into the door at Corcoran McEnearney, making sure that my brand is on point, making sure they’re able to capture who I am, and that is so exciting for me."
Traci M.
"One of the reasons why I chose Corcoran McEnearney Associates is that I didn’t want to be a little fish in a big pond. There’s many brokerages to choose from, but a lot of them have thousands of agents, and I wanted to be part of a team that was a little bit more on the boutique side, where if I had a question that I needed answered, I can either call the broker or a mentee that I had access to, and I knew would be responsive to my questions so that I can answer and help my clients to the best of my ability."
"One of the reasons why I chose Corcoran McEnearney Associates is that I didn’t want to be a little fish in a big pond. There’s many brokerages to choose from, but a lot of them have thousands of agents, and I wanted to be part of a team that was a little bit more on the boutique side, where if I had a question that I needed answered, I can either call the broker or a mentee that I had access to, and I knew would be responsive to my questions so that I can answer and help my clients to the best of my ability."
Cesar R.
"I knew that the only place I wanted to be was at Corcoran McEnearney. And a lot of that started out with the fact that my mom had been there. She was there within a couple of years of John McEnearney starting the firm. And I remembered this, like it was yesterday, it’s when I was still working at the bank, and I’d been at a manager’s meeting. Ironically was across the street from the old town offices of Corcoran McEnearney, and who should be walking in the door was the one and only Glenn Lewis who I’ve known since I was a kid cause he had worked with my mom and I get emotional every time I tell the story, I said I’m taking a real estate course. And Glenn, with the biggest smile on his face, looked at me and said, Mason, when you’re ready, we’ll have room for you. And it’s been the best decision I ever made. I left the bank on a Friday and I walked into Corcoran McEnearney on a Monday and I’ve never looked back. Corcoran McEnearney for me is being a part of a firm that is the best in the business. That is hands down, second to none, the best firm in this area."
"I knew that the only place I wanted to be was at Corcoran McEnearney. And a lot of that started out with the fact that my mom had been there. She was there within a couple of years of John McEnearney starting the firm. And I remembered this, like it was yesterday, it’s when I was still working at the bank, and I’d been at a manager’s meeting. Ironically was across the street from the old town offices of Corcoran McEnearney, and who should be walking in the door was the one and only Glenn Lewis who I’ve known since I was a kid cause he had worked with my mom and I get emotional every time I tell the story, I said I’m taking a real estate course. And Glenn, with the biggest smile on his face, looked at me and said, Mason, when you’re ready, we’ll have room for you. And it’s been the best decision I ever made. I left the bank on a Friday and I walked into Corcoran McEnearney on a Monday and I’ve never looked back. Corcoran McEnearney for me is being a part of a firm that is the best in the business. That is hands down, second to none, the best firm in this area."
Mason Montague B.