How the 6% Real Estate Commission Became Endangered: QuickTake

The 6% real estate commission, a mainstay of US home sales, is under threat like never before. The National Association of Realtors has agreed under legal pressure to make changes to its longstanding rules that could alter how fees are apportioned to buyers’ and sellers’ agents — a system that critics say makes commissions much higher in the US than elsewhere. The group’s settlement to end a class-action lawsuit came after a Missouri jury found that it and others had colluded to keep the fees high. On April 5, the Justice Department received the go-ahead from an appeals court to ...