Compass agreed to dish out $57.5 million to settle class-action lawsuits accusing the real-estate brokerage of conspiring to overcharge US home sellers by billions of dollars, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the regulatory documents, Compass denied any wrongdoing and claimed the sum would not materially affect its operations, according to The Real Deal.
“The reason we have chosen to settle is so we can minimize distractions and focus on serving you and your clients,” CEO Robert Reffkin said in an emailed statement to The Post.
A spokesperson for Compass declined to comment further.
The settlement comes a week after the industry’s largest trade group, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), coughed up $418 million to settle similar antitrust claims of inflated agent commissions brought by home sellers.
The landmark deal will likely slash costs and upend how Americans buy and sell homes by lowering commissions — typically between 5% and 6% — that could save buyers thousands of dollars.
Fewer costs in the home-buying process will likely be a welcome relief for middle- and lower-class American individuals 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 members the NAR represents.
The NAR’s payout was ordered after a Kansas City jury ruled against the organization and two major brokerages back in October, awarding plaintiffs $1.8 billion in damages.
Millions of Americans who sold homes in recent years are likely to receive a portion of this amount, including the latest one from Compass. However, details of the payouts — including when and how much recent sellers can expect to receive — remain unclear.
In the wake of the verdict, US-based home sellers and buyers filed dozens of copycat lawsuits, including in Illinois, Missouri and New York — which named Compass as a defendant, according to The Real Deal.
Compass’ settlement makes it the fourth major brokerage after Anywhere Real Estate, Keller Williams and RE/MAX — which agreed to pay a combined total of $209 million though the sum — to reach an agreement.
All four proposed settlements are still awaiting court approval, per The Real Deal.
Compass has also vowed to implement minor practice changes, including clarifying its communication about commissions to agents and clients and developing training materials to support the revisions, The Real Deal reported.
Among the changes it has agreed to make, Compass will require its brokerages and their agents to clearly disclose to clients that commissions are negotiable and not set by law.
Compass must also specify that the services of homebuyers’ agents are not free — and that those agents will disclose immediately any offer of compensation by the broker representing a seller.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
