LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the nation's largest real estate brokerages has agreed to pay $70 million as part of a settlement to resolve more than a dozen lawsuits across the country over brokerage fees.
The agreement, filed Thursday in federal court overseeing lawsuits in Illinois and Missouri, gives Keller Williams Realty Inc. more transparency to homebuyers and sellers about the fees paid to real estate agents. It also calls for the implementation of several measures aimed at providing
“I think this is a huge victory for homeowners and homebuyers across the country,” said Michael Ketchmark, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The main allegation in the lawsuit is that the nation's largest real estate brokerage has a practice of unfairly forcing homeowners to pay artificially high commissions when selling their homes. .
In October, a federal jury in Missouri found that the National Association of Realtors and several major real estate brokerages, including Keller Williams, conspired to pay home buyers commissions to home sellers in violation of federal antitrust laws. It was confirmed that he had requested this.
The jury ordered the defendants to pay approximately $1.8 billion in damages. If her treble damages, in which the plaintiff could receive up to three times the actual or compensatory damages, are awarded, the defendant could have to pay her more than $5 billion.
More than a dozen similar lawsuits are pending against the real estate brokerage industry.
Bringing Keller Williams out from under the cloud of litigation and uncertainty motivated the company to pursue a settlement offer that would free the company, franchisees, and agents from similar agency fee lawsuits across the United States. That will happen. The Austin, Texas-based company operates more than 1,100 offices and has approximately 180,000 agents.
“We have reached the decision to settle after careful consideration of the immediate and long-term well-being of our agents, franchisees, and the business model on which they depend,” Gary Keller, the company's executive chairman, said Thursday. This was stated in a company-wide email. . “This decision was made to provide stability, security and freedom for all of us to focus on our mission without distractions.”
Keller Williams clarified in the terms of the proposed settlement that agents would inform clients that fees are negotiable and that there is no minimum amount that clients must pay or that is required by law. agreed to do so.
The company also ensures that agents who work with prospective homebuyers disclose their remuneration structure, including “collaboration fees,” in which the seller's agent compensates the agent acting on the buyer's behalf for their services. I also agreed to do so.
As part of the settlement, which must be approved by the court, Keller Williams agents will no longer be required to be members of the National Association of Realtors or follow the industry group's guidelines.
Two other major real estate brokerages agreed to similar settlement terms last year. In their respective agreements, Anywhere Real Estate Inc. agreed to pay his $83.5 million and Re/Max agreed to pay his $55 million.
