A federal judge on Tuesday gave final approval to the lawsuit settlement reached by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) that affected several brokerages and MLSs across the country. 

In the settlement, which was part of the Sitzer-Burnett case, NAR agreed to pay $418 million over four years and amend some of its rules. The most prominent changes, which took effect Aug. 17, banned commissions from MLSs and required signed buyer’s broker agreements before a broker could show a client a house.

The Department of Justice took issue with those buyer’s broker agreements this week and attempted to pause the settlement with a late legal filing, alleging the agreements could limit how brokers compete for clients.

Despite the DOJ’s filing, Judge Stephen Bough approved the NAR settlement anyway.

“This is an important moment for NAR members, homebuyers and sellers, and the real estate industry,” said NAR President Kevin Sears, broker-associate of Sears Real Estate/Lamacchia Realty in Springfield, Massachusetts. “As consumer champions, NAR’s members have been working tirelessly to implement the practice changes required by the settlement and shepherd consumers through this period of transition. The principles of transparency, competition and choice are core to the settlement agreement and empower real estate professionals and consumers to negotiate the services and compensation that work for them.”

NAR CEO Nykia Wright said, “NAR is committed to empowering Realtors to help homebuyers and sellers successfully navigate what is often the most important financial transaction of their lives. Today and every day, NAR is focused on demonstrating the importance of agents who are Realtors in the marketplace, creating a transparent and inclusive home buying and selling process, and advancing the right to real property for all.”

Bough previously approved settlements reached by large brokerages, including Anywhere Real Estate, RE/MAX, COMPASS, At World Properties, HomeSmart, Redfin, Douglas Elliman and others.

The settlements were negotiated after a jury in October 2023 found NAR, Keller Williams and HomeServices of America liable for conspiring to inflate commissions and ordered them to pay $1.78 billion in damages.

HomeServices will pay about $250 million in its portion of the settlement. 

The NAR settlement terms made waves throughout the real estate industry after they were announced in March of this year. Some predicted a seismic shift in how and how much agents would be paid going forward. So far, those claims appear to be overblown.