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Each week on The Download, Inman’s Christy Murdock takes a deeper look at the top-read stories of the week to give you what you’ll need to meet Monday head-on. This week: They’ve been fighting since 2020, and now NAR plans to take the Department of Justice to the nation’s highest court to enforce a previous settlement.
So much of the legal wrangling that’s been talked and written about in recent years has been consumer-focused, with consumer watchdog organizations — not to mention buyers and sellers themselves — at the center of the conversation about what’s wrong with the way Realtors do business.
Looming over these since the National Association of Realtors’ settlement, however, has been the question of what the Department of Justice thinks about the way Realtors do business — and what changes it might seek to mandate.
NAR to fight DOJ investigation all the way to the Supreme Court by Jim Dalrymple II
Back in 2020, the DOJ simultaneously announced a lawsuit against and settlement with NAR, focusing on rules that federal officials views as anticompetitive. Subsequently, the DOJ resumed its probe and, in 2021, withdrew from the settlement.
Now, in a court filing, NAR has stated that it plans to file a petition for a writ of certiorari — a request for case review — to the Supreme Court by Oct. 10. This comes about a month and a half after NAR suffered a setback in the case after an appeals court refused the trade group’s request for a rehearing.
EXTRA: Kevin Sears opens up about NAR and the DOJ
Since NAR’s struggles and agent uncertainty appear to be far from over, it’s essential to watch your p’s and q’s when it comes to the trade group — and the way you do business. There’s no question that the industry and its professional organizations are under scrutiny, so act accordingly.
I’m a real estate broker, but I’m no longer a Realtor. Here’s why
Massachusetts broker Nadine Hiser outlines the differences between NAR-affiliated brokers and independents like her — and why her company, Key Realty Group, made the choice to leave NAR.
EXTRA: Big Brother’s little brothers are watching you
A bicoastal agent’s life since the commission rules changed
Selling real estate under the new commission rules is like playing Red Light, Green Light on a tightrope, bicoastal agent Cara Ameer writes. Here’s how her business has been since the change.
EXTRA: Lamacchia: Knock off the threats to hardworking real estate agents
Is good news finally on the horizon for the real estate industry?
Bernice Ross talks with Patrick Stone, chairman and founder of Williston Financial, about interest rates, new construction and the 2024 election.
EXTRA: 8 non-negotiables for business ethics in 2024
Christy Murdock is a writer, coach and consultant and the owner of Writing Real Estate. Connect with Writing Real Estate on Instagram and subscribe to the weekly roundup, The Ketchup.
