Realtors spend record $14.7 million on first-quarter lobbying as shakeup hits the real-estate industry

By Aarthi Swaminathan

The NAR scales up its Washington lobbying effort in first quarter as the group deals with litigation over alleged price-fixing

The National Association of Realtors scaled up its Washington lobbying effort in this year's first quarter, as the industry deals with major imminent changes regarding real-estate commissions.

The NAR spent $14.7 million on lobbying in the first quarter of 2024, according to a disclosure filed Monday. The figure was the largest amount of money the group had spent in any first quarter.

That came after the group spent $52.4 million on lobbying in 2023 and $81.7 million the year before, according to OpenSecrets data.

The NAR is one of the biggest trade groups in the U.S., with 1.5 million members, and has bounced between being the biggest and second-biggest lobbying spender in D.C., trading places with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The NAR did not respond to a request for comment.

The lobbying spend comes at a time when the NAR and real-estate brokerages are facing litigation from home sellers alleging that they conspired to keep commissions for their agents artificially inflated. The NAR continues to deny any wrongdoing in connection with a compensation rule that has been the subject of intense scrutiny over the last few months.

Traditionally, in most transactions, home sellers have paid a 6% fee to their broker, while buyers have not paid anything to their agent. Homeowners who paid the 6% fee when selling brought multiple lawsuits alleging price-fixing. Late last year in Missouri, attorney Michael Ketchmark won a $1.8 billion class-action jury award for a group of home sellers that held the NAR liable for doing so.

In March, the NAR announced it had agreed to eliminate rules on commissions to settle the lawsuits. A federal judge approved that preliminary settlement on April 22, opening the door to changes in how people buy and sell homes.

Judge Stephen Bough granted preliminary approval to the $418 million antitrust settlement in a Missouri court. A final approval hearing is set for Nov. 26.

Victor Reklaitis contributed.

-Aarthi Swaminathan

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04-27-24 0944ET

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