This is how the Boston condo for sale realtor commission blew up

Boston Condos for Sale and Apartments for Rent

This is how the Boston condo for sale realtor commission blew up:

Boston Condo for sale commission | Ford Realty Inc

Jury Verdict

On Oct. 31, a Kansas City, Missouri jury rocked the industry when it found the National Association of Realtors and two brokerages liable in the landmark Sitzer/Burnett antitrust lawsuit over broker commissions.

Boston Condo Broker Fees

The following month surfaced talking points, stock reactions and talk of industry technicalities that presented more questions than answers.

Real Estate Executives

Several brokerage executives were tight-lipped in the days following the verdict, as news of copycat lawsuits dominated headlines. Separate — but nearly identical — lawsuits popped up in Chicago, New York and Texas, with plenty more sure to come( including Boston).

The jury’s verdict landed in the middle of residential earnings season and NAR’s annual conference, where leadership jumped to steer the narrative and dispel misgivings. The 1.5 million-member trade group doubled down on its policies and vowed to continue fighting the onslaught of litigation.

“Just know that this is one chapter in a longer process,” NAR President Tracy Kasper said at the conference. “This is more about our consumer than it is about us, and we will fight for that.”

In addition to the usual cast of characters, the wave of litigation brought new players, including an antitrust lawyer who emerged as a disruptor for the old guard of residential real estate and fresh faces replacing some executives as shakeups hit the key parties.

As tech giants seized the moment to tout their relevance amid an industry evolution, brokerage executives brushed off concerns about the verdict’s impact on the industry and the potential toll of new lawsuits filed against them.

“We believe these lawsuits lack merit, and we intend to challenge them,” Douglas Elliman Chair Howard Lorber said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

As the industry appears to absorb the aftershocks of the verdict, more developments are on the horizon.

The judge in the Sitzer/Burnett case will have to decide whether to uphold the jury’s verdict. The verdict’s confirmation could include a trebling of the damages under antitrust law to more than $5 billion.