#15 - National Media is pushing false narratives on the recent $418 million NAR settlement

Sold a home in the last four years? Congratulations. You’re entitled to a piece of the $418 million Realtor settlement fund. But don’t expect a big windfall. Since you will be among 21 million other Americans who are part of the “settlement class,” the amount per seller — after deducting attorneys’ fees — could be as low as $13. That’s a pittance compared with the $18,000-$22,000 commission Southern California sellers typically pay buyers’ agents — on top of what they paid their own agents. “It’s not going to be a lot of money,” said Jack Miller, president and chief executive of Orange County-based consulting firm T3 Sixty. “It’s not really a financial thing. The rules changes are the bigger deal here.” The size of the seller payout is one of four key takeaways from the 107-page settlement reached this month between plaintiffs in more than 20 class-action lawsuits and the National Association of Realtors. Homeowners and their attorneys argued in federal lawsuits across the nation that the decades-old practice of requiring sellers to post compensation offers for buyer agents amounted to price-fixing, keeping the 5-6% commission rate artificially high.