Money

You May Be Eligible to Get Money Back From Realtor Fees. Here's What to Know

If you sold a home and paid fees to your agent, you could be part of a class action settlement for real estate commissions.

Clifford Colby Managing Editor

Clifford is a managing editor at CNET, where he leads How-To coverage. He spent a handful of years at Peachpit Press, editing books on everything from the first iPhone to Python. He also worked at a handful of now-dead computer magazines, including MacWEEK and MacUser. Unrelated, he roots for the Oakland A's.

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Clifford Colby

Aug. 14, 2024 3:10 a.m. PT

3 min read

If you sold a home in the last seven years, a collection of class-action lawsuits claim you paid inflated real estate fees that were anticompetitive and unfair. As part of the proposed agreement, you may be eligible for compensation from a total of $980.9 million in legal settlements agreed to by multiple real estate brokerage companies.

Along with its proposed settlements, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has agreed to change the way real estate agents list fees. They will not be permitted to advertise commission fees when listing homes starting Aug. 17, 2024, with the goal of encouraging buyers and sellers to instead negotiate those fees. A 6% commission, split between the seller's agent and the buyer's agent, had become the custom Realtor's fee.

Here's how to find out if you are eligible to be compensated for fees related to selling a house. For more, here's what we know about the Cash App settlement payout.

Who's eligible to submit a claim in the real estate fees proposed settlements?

If you sold a home in the US listed on a multiple listing service (MLS) between Oct. 31, 2017, and July 23, 2024, and paid a real estate broker commission, you may be part of the settlement class and eligible for compensation from the $980.9M pool of money.

Defendants include NAR and Anywhere, Keller Williams and Re/Max real estate brokerage firms, but you do not need to have sold a home using an agent from one of those firms to make a claim. Check the settlement website for specific dates for your home's region.

Eligibility depends on where you live and when you sold your home, with estimates for the total number sellers who could participate in the settlement between 21 million and 50 million.

How much money could I get in the $980.9M settlement?

The $980.9M pool of money will be divided among those who qualify for the settlement.

According to the settlement website, the plaintiffs will propose a plan to the court to distribute the settlement funds to those who qualify, and the proposal will be posted to the settlement website. According to the website, the plan is expected to take into account the amount of commissions sellers paid to a real estate broker or agent.

While the pool of money is large, with so many potential claimants, the average payout could be $13.

How do I file a claim and what are the filing deadlines?

You can either submit a claim online or print out and mail in a claim form to this address:

Burnett et al. v. The National Association of Realtors et al.
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91479
Seattle, WA 98111

If you sold multiple homes, you will need to submit separate claim forms for each of your properties.

You need to mail or email your claim form by May 9, 2025.

When will I get my money?

The settlement website says payments will go out after the claims period is over on May 9, 2025, and appeals are resolved. It cautions those who qualify to please be patient.

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