The National Association of Realtors agreed Friday to resolve antitrust litigation accusing brokerages of inflating sales commissions, a settlement likely to bring major changes and lower costs when Americans buy and sell homes. The $418 million settlement calls for the NAR to eliminate decades-old rules on commissions and make it easier for buyers to negotiate fees with their own agents or use no agents at all. These changes could spur more home sales by lowering typical commissions by thousands of dollars, a benefit to less-wealthy people and families struggling with inflationary pressures or being priced out of their neighborhoods. But it may also reduce revenue for traditional real estate brokerages and make employment less lucrative and appealing to the more than 1 million agents the NAR represents. The settlement was announced 4½ months after a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, ordered the NAR and several brokerages to pay $1.78 billion in an antitrust case covering agents in that state. A judge there is considering a request by plaintiffs to triple the damages. Several similar lawsuits have been filed around the country. Defendants in the litigation have included HomeServices of America, part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway…Read more