April 26, 2024
Real-estate industry has now agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to settle anticompetitive allegations
A real-estate brokerage firm that is part of Warren Buffett’s conglomerate has reached a settlement in the landmark antitrust case against the industry, though the amount was a fraction of what the plaintiffs have aimed to recover.
HomeServices of America reached a nationwide $250 million settlement, the company said Friday. That figure is higher than what any other individual brokerage has agreed to pay to settle claims that the real-estate industry used a commission structure that kept fees for agents artificially high.
Since the residential broker is a subsidiary of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, the plaintiffs hoped to collect a payout many times that amount. They had tried in court filings to tie the brokerage to its parent company, Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
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Benjamin Brown, a plaintiff attorney at Cohen Milstein, said plaintiffs can continue to pursue claims against Berkshire Hathaway Energy. “We don’t accept that none of the Berkshire Hathaway entities have liability here,” Brown said.
HomeServices was the last remaining defendant in the antitrust case against the National Association of Realtors trade organization and four major brokerage firms. With this latest settlement, real-estate firms and NAR have agreed to pay more than $940 million to resolve the antitrust claims.
In October, plaintiffs won a $1.8 billion verdict in Missouri after alleging that NAR and residential brokerages used a commission structure that kept fees for Missouri agents artificially high. A judge could have tripled that amount to more than $5 billion.
Read Warren Buffett’s Real-Estate Firm Settles Antitrust Matter for $250 Million.