Real Estate Verdict Spurs ‘Race to Courthouse’ Over Collusion

Private plaintiffs are primed to file new lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors following a $1.8 billion verdict against the powerful trade group, pushing potential damages into the hundreds of billions of dollars and posing significant risk to the real estate industry.

A Missouri jury last week sided with the plaintiffs against the NAR and several residential brokerages, finding them guilty of colluding to inflate brokerage commissions. Home sellers had accused the trade group of forcing them make inflated payments to buyers’ brokers.

The success of the case, and the additional scrutiny of how real estate agents are paid, ...