Jury Finds Realtors Conspired to Keep Commissions High

The National Association of Realtors and big residential brokerages
were found liable for about $1.8 billion in damages

A federal jury on Tuesday found the National Association of Realtors
and large residential brokerages liable for about $1.8 billion in
damages after determining they conspired to keep commissions for home
sales artificially high.

The verdict could lead to industrywide upheaval by changing
decades-old rules that have helped lock in commission rates even as
home prices have skyrocketed--which has allowed real-estate agents to
collect ever-larger sums. It comes in the first of two antitrust
lawsuits arguing that unlawful industry practices have left consumers
unable to lower their costs even though internet-era innovations have
allowed many buyers to find homes themselves online.

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/jury-finds-realtors-conspired-to-keep-commissions-high-awards-nearly-1-8-billion-in-damages-b26f9c2f

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)