The National Association of Realtors (NAR) faced a lawsuit over antitrust violations concerning price-fixing related to agent commissions. Listing agents requested homeowners to pay a commission covering both their fee and the buyer's fee, leading to a fixed fee in the listing agreement. This fixed fee was advertised on the MLS, standardizing compensation for competing brokers. The key violation stemmed from homeowners committing to a specific commission fee in the listing agreement, not merely from posting this fee publicly on the MLS, reflecting a deeper issue of market control and competition restrictions.
Price-fixing occurs when competitors agree on prices, eliminating market competition. In real estate, setting a specific commission fee for buyer agents across brokerages is a form of this violation.
The violation isn't simply posting commission offers on the MLS, but when a homeowner commits to a fixed fee for any competing broker through a signed listing agreement.
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