Last week, NAR President Kevin Sears checked in from the NAR Broker Summit, where he learned new tools to strengthen his business alongside several hundred fellow brokers. Next stop, Washington, DC for the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings, where we’ll show Congress our grassroots strength in action.   We encourage you to watch Kevin’s video here to learn more about what NAR is advocating for this year at RLM. As always, the overarching theme is increasing access to homeownership. This video is also in the video section of our website. Stay tuned for Kevin’s next update ..read more

Update from Katie Johnson, NAR Chief Legal Officer and Chief Member Experience Officer I’m writing to provide an update regarding the proposed settlement agreement we announced on March 15, 2024, to end litigation of claims brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions. As expected, Plaintiffs’ counsel filed Saturday, April 20, a Motion for Preliminary Approval of this agreement with the federal court in the Western District of Missouri. Importantly, this filing initiates the 60-day time period during which all REALTOR® MLSs, brokerages with 2022 total transaction volume fo ..read more

Update from Katie Johnson, NAR Chief Legal Officer and Chief Member Experience Officer We have good news to share on this Friday evening. A unanimous Supreme Court issued a ruling Friday championed by NAR that says the government can't demand hefty development fees from property owners as a condition for building permits.    The case centered around the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the taking of private property without just compensation.   In their ruling, the Justices unanimously said there is no legislative exemption to the takin ..read more

Bill Tracking Report as of 4/19/2024 Week 6 Report There was a lot of action at the Capitol this week as the 2024 Legislative Session races towards its April 22nd halfway mark.  The halfway mark is the time the House starts hearing Senate bills, the Senate starts hearing House bills, and the “money bills”, aka the state budget and state capital outlay program, begin wrapping up public testimony before heading to the House floor. Legislators are expecting many late nights over the next few weeks as they work through the important issues facing Louisiana and race towards the June 3rd fin ..read more

A Message from Ken Fears, NAR Director of Conventional Finance and Valuation Policy Earlier this week, both  Fannie Mae  and  Freddie Mac  published explicit confirmations that buyers whose agent is compensated by the seller will continue to have access to financing through those institutions.  Furthermore, so long as it remains "customary" for the seller to pay commissions, those will not be added to the interest party contributions (IPC) and subject to the caps on IPCs. Interpretation of this rule under the proposed settlement was of great concern, and NAR  wr ..read more

Bill Tracking Report as of 4/12/2024 Week 5 Report ..read more

Bill Tracking Report as of 4/5/2024 Week 4 Report ..read more

NAR President Kevin Sears joined the Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast answering questions about the future of NAR and the recently announced settlement agreement. The podcast can be viewed here ..read more

Last week NAR President Kevin Sears checked in from Wyoming, where he met with REALTORS® from six western states at the Region 11 Conference. Kevin’s attended many member town halls across the country to answer questions about the settlement; keep up with the latest at facts.realtor .   You can watch Kevin’s video here to learn about a valuable member service we’re offering at no additional cost, as well as how members can engage with NAR committees. This video is also in the video section of our website. Stay tuned for Kevin’s next update. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Throughout 2024, NAR is ..read more

Update from Katie Johnson, NAR Chief Legal Officer and Chief Member Experience Officer We recognize that some of you have raised questions about NAR’s recent settlement agreement and what effect, if any, it will have on commercial transactions. I want to clarify that the proposed settlement agreement—like the Sitzer-Burnett lawsuit and the copycat lawsuits—is focused on residential real estate transactions. That means most commercial transactions will not be affected. Below I have included a handful of clarifying points that can be used with commercial practitioners in your associations. I’v ..read more