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Over $730 million real estate broker commission class action settlements

If you sold a home listed on a multiple listing service (MLS) between October 31, 2017, and July 23, 2024, and paid a real estate broker commission, you may be eligible to claim compensation from class action settlements totaling over $730 million for allegedly inflated commission fees.

The most recent real estate commission settlements cover multiple real estate brokerage companies and eligible date ranges defined below under “Who’s Eligible,” including Compass, Real Brokerage, Realty ONE, At World Properties LLC, Douglas Elliman, Redfin, Engel & Völkers, HomeSmart, and United Real Estate.

According to the class action lawsuits known as the “real estate commission litigation,” multiple brokers and agents allegedly violated antitrust laws by conspiring together to artificially raise commission fees. Consumers argue that, due to the alleged anti-competitive agreement, they were forced to pay inflated commissions when selling their homes.

The defendants named below have agreed to pay collectively over $110 million into a settlement fund:

Compass Inc. paid $57.5 million

Real Brokerage paid $9.25 million

Realty ONE paid $5 million

@Properties paid $6.5 million

Douglas Elliman paid $7.75 million with up to $10 million more in additional contingent payments

Redfin paid $9.25 million

Engel & Völkers paid $6.9 million

HomeSmart paid $4.7 million

United Real Estate paid $3.75 million

The current value of all proposed settlements with these and other defendants is over $730 million.

Under the terms of the real estate commission settlements, class members can receive a proportional share of each settlement fund they are eligible for. Go to the settlement website, RealEstateCommissionLitigation.com, to learn more.

The deadline for exclusion and objection is Oct. 3, 2024.

The final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for Oct. 31, 2024.

Me three. My realtor works hard for her commission, and I entered into the Listing Agreement with both eyes open after an arm's length discussion of commissions.

The only people to make money from this class action (and all class actions I know about) are the attorneys.

War Story: I was one of the class members in a class action lawsuit against a cruise line. The settlement payout to class members was in the form of a voucher for a discount on a future cruise, which could not be combined with other discounts. But the other discounts for past cruisers were far greater than the settlement discount, so no one ever cashed in the settlement discount! I objected to the settlement, but the Court didn't care.

The combined total payment for this Class Action is over $1 billion. Attorneys are getting 1/3. That leaves over $600,000,000 to be divided among claimants.

It will be interesting to see how many claimants there are and how those funds are divided.

I agree that MANY Class Actions that are large don't provide much at all. That being said, I've been included in two where I got over $100:

1. This was specific to Michigan where a magazine provider sold our information to others for marketing other magazines -- without permission. I think I got a check for $127. Which seemed insane to me, but I'll take it.

2. In a Class Action for people who had purchased Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors and TVs over a several year period, I had multiple items that I had purchased - including some for my old company that sold PCs. I think I got like $300 in this one.

In any case, I get that they are often small -- but the idea that most of the money is going to attorneys is generally incorrect. Even in this case, where the attorneys are getting $300+ million, the pool for claimants is still double that.

It'll be interesting to see the final amounts paid.