One of the largest real estate brokerages in the United States, Keller Williams Realty Inc., has agreed to pay $70 million as part of a proposed settlement to resolve over a dozen lawsuits across the country regarding agent commissions. The settlement, filed with federal courts in Illinois and Missouri, also includes provisions aimed at enhancing transparency in the real estate market for homebuyers and sellers.
The lawsuits claim that major real estate brokerages, including Keller Williams, engage in practices that unfairly lead homeowners to pay inflated agent commissions when selling their homes. In October, a federal jury in Missouri found the National Association of Realtors and several large brokerages guilty of conspiring to require home sellers to pay commissions to buyers' agents, in violation of federal antitrust law. The jury awarded nearly $1.8 billion in damages, which could increase to over $5 billion if treble damages are awarded.
