Current:Home > MarketsAre real estate agent fees a racket? -MarketLink
Are real estate agent fees a racket?
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Date:2025-04-16 21:21:46
In the typical home sale, the home seller pays a commission, not just to their agent, but also to the buyer's agent. This fee-sharing arrangement is part of a decades-old practice involving what realtors call an "offer of compensation."
Others call it a conflict of interest.
That's the dispute at the center of a class action lawsuit that has the potential to upend the real estate business. Today on the show, we'll explain how real estate brokers and the National Association of Realtors allegedly conspired to inflate home prices by pushing agents to share fees. And why the industry says the plaintiffs should be careful what they ask for.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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