{"id":23887,"date":"2024-07-31T13:08:45","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T13:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=23887"},"modified":"2024-07-31T13:08:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T13:08:47","slug":"growing-stronger-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/growing-stronger-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Stronger Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As an association, we will help you adapt to coming practice changes. As a skilled professional, you\u2019ll play a vital role in communicating the truth about these changes to consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By now, you\u2019ve likely heard and read many stories about the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae proposed settlement to resolve nationwide claims brought by home sellers related to broker commissions. It\u2019s important that you know the facts about the proposed settlement, which is why we have been blanketing members with emails, social media posts, podcast appearances and newsletter content. I hope you\u2019ve found these resources helpful in understanding and digesting the settlement agreement details. In fact, I would encourage anyone who wants to truly understand the proposed settlement to read the full settlement agreement, which you\u2019ll find posted at facts.realtor<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I strongly believe this outcome is the best we could achieve given the circumstances. Since this litigation started, our goal has always been to protect our members to the greatest extent possible while also preserving consumer choice. The proposed settlement achieves both goals. It also presents a path forward for NAR and allows our organization to continue providing unparalleled value to our members and American consumers. Some have criticized this settlement as being in the interest of the association rather than its members. The two go hand in hand. As a practitioner who has worked in real estate for more than 30 years, I have seen the unparalleled value NAR provides to its members and the industry. Whether it\u2019s working to promote and preserve tax advantages for real estate purchasers, helping us fend off regulatory overreach, or defending the rights of property owners, our association operates with an effectiveness and integrity that is widely recognized and admired both in the U.S. and abroad. Anyone who has seen up close the many ways the association protects and advances our interests every day recognizes how important it is that NAR continue its mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The settlement would release well over 1 million NAR members and many industry stakeholders from liability in these matters. For those who were not included, I can say that there was no perfect option for resolving this litigation. NAR fought hard to include as many industry participants in the release of liability as we could. Ultimately, we could not persuade the plaintiffs to include the largest brokerages, particularly given the significant settlements that other corporate defendants had already reached. For most brokerages, the settlement provides a mechanism to obtain releases efficiently if those brokerages choose to use it. The settlement also calls for practice changes that will go into effect in around late July of this year. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n