Editorial NAR is innocent.

NAR and MAR are completely innocent as they have tried for 40 years to teach and warn Realtors against price fixing. MAR & NAR are being asked to pay for a 3rd party's violation of criminal law, perhaps some KWs in Missouri.

I would rather see this go to the Supreme Court if necessary than have innocent pay a consent judgment. There is a high risk that NAR will declare bankruptcy as the membership will likely refuse to pay any of an unfair consent judgement. Why should Help You Sell in Michigan who introduced 4% forty years ago want to pay for KWs errors in Missouri? Realtors will resign by the 10s of thousands. I hope that this does no bring down the valuable MLS systems.

The court is so ridiculous. Not only do they have the wrong defendants as NAR but they look at the real estate world as single family houses. What about my Commercial, industrial, investment brokerage? They also have it all wrong that everyone charges 6%. I have had an hourly option since at least the year 2000. At least in Michigan I see a wide variety of percent (%) commissions ranging from 2% in the apartment investment world to 10%. I once paid 15% on a vacant lot up north that we owned! To add to the absurdity of the situation the lawyers are price fixing at 33% and might even include the plaintiff’s attorneys in the subject suit. NAR and the Insurance Companies should sue the Lawyers, (any lawyers quoting 33%) along with the Bar Associations. Then run these parallel cases up the ladder through the courts. Logic says we will win. The only losers might be those individual Realtors that did price fix. They should expelled from NAR and let them suffer the judgements, if any. The rest of us Realtors continue with a slightly modified MLS system.

Thanks for sharing my thoughts with decision makers.

Tom Goebel, Realtor Emeritus March 25, 2024