As largely expected, inflation has surged this past month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew 0.9% from February to March, with annual inflation at 3.3%. This is a drastic increase from the 0.3% increase seen in February, when annual inflation was 2.4%. Separately, another measure of inflation through the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index…
Zillow on April 10 announced that an additional 28 brokerages have signed on to be part of its “Zillow Preview” premarketing program, bringing the total to “nearly 60,” according to the portal, as the industry continues to parse out the principles of this strategy. The new companies appear to be mostly large regional brokerages, including…
In the Gibson v. NAR commission lawsuit (the largest and first Burnett copycat) before Judge Stephen R. Bough in the Western District of Missouri, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (BHE)—parent company of HomeServices of America (HSA)—just had the court deny their request for summary judgment. BHE first filed a motion for summary judgment on March 4,…
A federal judge ruled yesterday that eXp must face accusations of fraud related to its actions in the wake of sexual assault allegations against top recruiters, writing that plaintiffs provided significant evidence that the brokerage lied about conducting an investigation into two men accused of drugging and assaulting women at company events. “Plaintiffs allege, in…
For the past nine years in a row, the lament among residential real estate brokers was unanimous: There’s not enough inventory. Now, the larger problem is that many cannot afford the inventory. While concerns over housing affordability are on the rise, brokers are also seeing a return to a more balanced market, according to the…
The legal battle between Northwest MLS (NWMLS) and Compass escalated this past week as NWMLS filed counterclaims in federal court, accusing the nation’s largest residential brokerage of violating Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, fraudulent misrepresentation and tortious interference—charges Compass swiftly dismissed as retaliation by a “monopolist” protecting its own turf. The counterclaims, filed April 2 in…
Real estate people love to extol the limitless potential of a career in the business. Michele Harrington’s story makes the hype a reality. While Harrington’s path from U.S. Marine to CEO of Southern California’s iconic FirstTeam Real Estate was anything but predictable, there was one constant that fueled her momentum every step of the way:…
A federal judge in the Northern District of Georgia has granted final approval to a series of commission-related antitrust settlements involving several real estate brokerages, bringing an end to the cases after a prolonged fight between two groups of plaintiffs and accusations that the companies negotiated “sweetheart” deals. The dispute stems from a broader clash…
Following commission-focused class-action lawsuits, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) agreed to rule changes in 2024, one of those being the mandatory use of written buyer agreements before any property showing so as to ensure transparency. But at the state level, laws have been passed contradicting this mandate. In 2025, Alabama passed a law which…
A federal judge handed the National Association of Realtors (NAR) a major legal win today, throwing out a lawsuit by two brokers and an agent in Michigan, who had claimed that rules restricting MLS access violated federal and state antitrust laws. Douglas Hardy, Glenn Champion and Dylan Trent filed the lawsuit all the way back…
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