On November 19th, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and NAR announced a settlement regarding the DOJ’s antitrust concerns. The DOJ filed both the lawsuit and the settlement simultaneously, and NAR agreed to settle without admitting wrongdoing or that the allegations are true.
Basically, DOJ asked NAR to amend its MLS rules and some policies to provide more transparency to homebuyers in regard to commissions. Within 45 days of the order (Nov. 11, 2020), NAR must submit language and rule changes for review and approval to DOJ. Here are the four changes DOJ is requesting:
IV. PROHIBITED CONDUCT
NAR and its Member Boards must not adopt, maintain, or enforce any Rule, or enter into or enforce any Agreement or practice, that directly or indirectly:
1. prohibits, discourages, or recommends against an MLS or MLS Participant publishing or displaying to consumers any MLS database field specifying the compensation offered to other MLS Participants;
2. permits or requires MLS Participants, including buyer Brokers, to represent or suggest that their services are free or available to a Client at no cost to the Client;
3. permits or enables MLS Participants to filter, suppress, hide, or not display or distribute MLS listings based on the level of compensation offered to the buyer Broker or the name of the brokerage or agent; or
4. prohibits, discourages, or recommends against the eligibility of any licensed real estate agent or agent of a Broker, from accessing, with seller approval, the lockboxes of those properties listed on an MLS.
NAR announced the upcoming changes to the Code of Ethics and MLS rules and policies in compliance of this agreement. You can watch the video to see a quick overview.
You can read the NAR summary and read the FAQ at nar.realtor. One of the biggest changes will be the ability for the seller to direct that any licensed real estate agent have access to the lockbox on a property listed in the MLS, even if the agent does not subscribe to the MLS.
NAR will work with DOJ over the next few weeks to form the exact language. Once the NAR Board of Directors approves the changes, NAR estimates you will see the changes officially take place in the first quarter of 2021.