Big Real Estate Companies making deals over commissions

The deal proposed by the National Association of Realtors to settle the antitrust lawsuits didn’t get all of its members — some of the biggest names in residential brokerage — out of the woods.

The $418 million agreement, pending court approval, only covers brokerages that handled under $2 billion in deal volume in 2022, a tiny amount for many of the residential behemoths the trade group represents.

How Compass saved millions

That’s likely why Compass settled separately for $57.5 million in a deal announced Friday. If it had agreed to the terms of the NAR agreement, it would have had to pay around $509 million. Even for brokerages with far less volume, NAR’s settlement terms would have meant steep payments. Douglas Elliman, with $42 billion in sales in 2022, would likely have to pay north of $100 million to take part in the settlement.