Dear members,
I am following up on my note from yesterday on the final approval of the settlement agreement in the Sitzer/Burnett case. As promised, I am sharing the formal written order from the Court, which you can read here.
One point I would like to call attention to is the Department of Justice’s role in our settlement approval process. As I have said throughout my term as President, we have always sought to find common ground with the DOJ on topics that define how we do business and support the dream of homeownership in America. Both our leadership team and members have had numerous meetings and extensive dialogue with DOJ over the past year.
How does the DOJ respond to our good faith engagement? By filing a last-minute objection less than 48 hours before our settlement approval hearing, raising a misguided concern about written buyer agreements, and attempting to disrupt our settlement at the eleventh hour. In the filing, the DOJ does not seem to be concerned about the use of written buyer agreements, as many states require these agreements as a matter of law. Rather, the DOJ takes issue with the practice change that requires the use of written buyer agreements as a part of the settlement. But the filing was vague and unclear so their exact intentions are unknown. Regardless, we fully disagree with the DOJ’s position and stand behind written buyer agreements as a tool to create transparency and empower consumer choice in residential real estate transactions.
Additionally, as expected, the DOJ included its position on offers of compensation—it wants a total decoupling of compensation between buyer and seller brokers. Offers of compensation are explicitly or implicitly allowed by law in most, if not all states. We continue to believe that offers of compensation are critical to help make professional representation more accessible, decrease costs for home buyers to secure these services, and increase fair housing opportunities and the potential buyer pool for sellers. That’s why NAR fought to explicitly preserve offers of compensation in the settlement agreement.
This tactic by the DOJ was deeply disrespectful of our members, the court, and the entire approval process. DOJ has had months since we first announced our settlement to make their opinions known, and this late filing shows that DOJ has nothing meaningful to say about it.
After considering the DOJ’s point of view, along with those of other objectors to our settlement, Judge Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri ultimately granted final approval.
I say this to underscore the fact that while we remain open to dialogue and common ground, NAR will always fight for the interests of our members across the country. Our focus as REALTORS® should be to continue working with our clients to navigate the new industry landscape – this means continuing to follow the practice changes in good faith and keeping in mind the dos and don’ts of working with buyers and sellers. This is how we will demonstrate our value to clients each and every day.
Thank you again for your membership and support, and I wish you and your families a happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Kevin Sears
President
National Association of REALTORS®