Unified Statement on NAR Settlement

Seattle King County REALTORS® is pleased the National Association of REALTORS® has entered into a settlement agreement in their class action lawsuits concerning representation and compensation. The settlement is yet to be finalized, but it demonstrates a potential resolution that will allow us to move forward while serving both real estate professionals and consumers.

Many brokers in our region may be confused about why this lawsuit happened in the first place or how the settlement terms may impact their business. It is important to note there are significant regional differences in the practice and norms of residential brokerage across the United States. We applaud NAR for continuing to identify ways to improve real estate practices across the nation and the world. We stand ready to assist Designated Brokers, Managers, and Owners to educate their Brokers on best practices locally to ensure the REALTOR® brand continues to be the most trusted in real estate by consumers.

Locally, we are extremely proud of the leadership of Washington REALTORS® working in consultation with Seattle King County REALTORS®, the largest local association in the state, along with many member firms, in championing legal transparency in how real estate brokers are compensated.

Washington State licensing law now requires written service contracts for all buyer or seller brokerage services. Washington State serves as a role model that continues to lead the nation in broker compensation transparency and consumer protection because of the thoughtful and hard work of many dedicated volunteers and staff.  

Seattle King County REALTORS® is also grateful for the diligent work of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service which is, and continues to be, completely independent of our organization as they work hard to continuously improve the processes and practice of real estate through their oversight and governance.

Each local board is allocated NAR Directors based on their membership count, and we have three local leaders who were elected by the SKCR Board of Directors to serve on the NAR Board of Directors to represent our interests: Garrett Nelson, Gina Madeya, and myself. We will continue to monitor this issue closely on our behalf. For those who wish to read more about the settlement terms from NAR President Kevin Sears, you may do so here.

We are thankful for our member firms, Board of Directors, volunteers, staff, and many affiliated partners who work to improve the practice of real estate for consumers each day. We look forward to continuing that work with all of you as we move forward.

Thank you for placing your continued trust in Seattle King County REALTORS® as we continue to be laser-focused on providing value to all of our members.