National Association of Realtors#NAR educational requirements and recognized designations

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File:National Association of Realtors building (Washington DC).JPG

The National Association of Realtors was founded on May 12, 1908 as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges in Chicago, Illinois.{{Citation|author1-last=McMillin|author1-first=David|title=What Is NAR (National Association of Realtors)?|url=https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/what-is-national-association-of-realtors/|access-date=2023-07-28|website=Bankrate|date=18 July 2022 |language=en-US|archive-date=2022-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719073616/https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/what-is-national-association-of-realtors/|url-status=live}}{{citation|title=History|website=National Association of Realtors website|date=13 January 2012 |url=https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/history|access-date=2024-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404225634/https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/history|archive-date=2024-04-04|url-status=live}} In 1916, it changed its name to The National Association of Real Estate Boards (NAREB). The current name was adopted in 1972.

NAR's members are residential and commercial real estate brokers, real estate salespeople, immovable property managers, appraisers, counselors, and others engaged in all aspects of the real estate (immovable property) industry, where a state license to practice is required. Members belong to one or more of some 1,600 local realtor boards or associations. They are pledged to a code of ethics and standards of practice, a version of which was first adopted in 1913.{{Citation|url=https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/governing-documents/the-code-of-ethics|title=The Code of Ethics|website=National Association of Realtors website|date=2018-03-07|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409192833/https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/governing-documents/the-code-of-ethics|archive-date=2024-04-09|url-status=live}}

The NAR governs the hundreds of local Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) which are the information exchanges used across the nation by real estate brokers. (However, many MLSs are independent of NAR, although membership is typically limited to licensed brokers and their agents; MLSPIN{{Cite web|url=https://mlspin.com/|title=Welcome to MLS PIN - Connecting Real Estate Professionals|website=mlspin.com|access-date=2019-04-11}} is an example of one of the larger independent MLSs in North America.)

Through a complicated arrangement, NAR sets the policies for most of the Multiple Listings Services, and in the late 1990s, with the growth of the Internet, NAR evolved regulations allowing Internet Data Exchanges (IDX) whereby brokers would allow a portion of their data to be seen on the Internet via brokers' or agents' websites and Virtual Office Websites (VOW) which required potential buyers to register to obtain information.

These policies allowed participants—whether they were individual one-person brokers or large regional companies—to limit access to some or all of the MLS data by individual brokers (whether they were brokers operating solely on the Internet or local competitors). In 2005, this prompted the Department of Justice to file an antitrust lawsuit against NAR alleging its MLS rules regarding these types of limitations on the display of data were the product of a conspiracy to restrain trade by excluding brokers who used the Internet to operate differently from traditional brick-and-mortar brokers. (For a description of the DOJ action, see Antitrust Case filings for U.S. vs. National Association of Realtors.[http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/nar.htm United States v. National Association of Realtors]. United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-27.) Meanwhile, various real estate trends such as expanded consumer access and the Internet are consolidating existing local MLS organizations into larger and more statewide or regional MLS systems, such as in California and Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Regional Information Systems.

In response to the case, NAR had proposed setting up a single Internet Listing Display system which would not allow participants to exclude individual brokers (whether of a bricks-and-mortar type or solely internet-based) but require a blanket opting out of display on all other brokers{{'}} sites.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} This system became the IDX system. Although IDX allows the public to view MLS listings, it still requires the listing brokerage information to be placed on the listing every place it appears (brokers legally "own" the listings of their brokerage), to prevent misrepresentation of the listing information, and to place accountability for the information on the broker as the law dictates.

The antitrust lawsuit was settled in May 2008.Bartz, Diane. [https://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN2739237620080528 Realtors to open listings to settle lawsuit]. Reuters. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-27. The settlement agreement mandated that all Multiple Listing Service systems allow access to Internet-based competitors.Jordan, Lara Jakes. [http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9392912?source=rss Settlement opens listings to online real estate agents]. Associated Press. The Mercury News, Silicon Valley. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-27. It required NAR to treat online brokers the same as traditional brokers and barred NAR from excluding online brokers from membership because they do not have a traditional business model.Lichtblau, Eric. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/business/28realty.html Realtors Agree to Stop Blocking Web Listings]. The New York Times. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-05-27. The NAR admitted no wrongdoing, and it paid neither fines nor damages as part of the deal. A federal judge formally approved the settlement in November 2008.{{Cite web |title=Judge locks in DOJ v. NAR settlement |url=https://www.inman.com/2008/11/20/judge-locks-in-doj-v-nar-settlement/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Inman |language=en-US}} NAR's general counsel believed that the settlement would not affect commissions paid by the general public, but a business professor at Western Michigan University predicted that the increased competition would cause a 25 to 50 percent decrease in commissions.

Another major anti-competitive practice is supported (indirectly) by various state laws which prohibit the "sharing" of commissions with unlicensed individuals. In broad interpretations, this is deemed to prevent a buyers' agent from providing credit to his or her buyers from commissions received. Currently, there are 10 states where real estate agents and brokers are barred from offering homebuyers or sellers cash rebates or gifts of any kind with a cash value of more than $25. Various realtors in such states have successfully contested this interpretation in states which now allow the practice (notably, Patrick Lea, a realtor in Ohio, and numerous agents in Kentucky). The Kentucky case was ultimately tried with the United States Department of Justice as the plaintiff and the Kentucky Real Estate Commission as the defendant.{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f210200/210274.htm|title=Competitive Impact Statement: U.S. v. Kentucky Real Estate Commission|date=26 July 2005|publisher=United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky}}

In 2019, The National Association of Realtors’ board approved the Clear Cooperation Policy. A policy that requires brokers to submit a listing to the Multiple Listings Service within one business day of marketing a property to the public.{{Cite web|url=https://therealdeal.com/la/2019/11/11/nars-pocket-listings-killer-takes-another-step-forward/|title=NAR approves pocket listings killer|date=2019-11-11|website=The Real Deal Los Angeles|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-11}}{{Cite news |last=Kamin |first=Debra |date=2025-04-25 |title=Real Estate Brokerages Fight Over How Houses for Sale Should Be Listed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/realestate/brokerages-compass-lawsuit.html |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

The National Association of Realtors is considered one of the most powerful special interests in the United States.{{Cite news |last=Justice |first=Glen |date=2006-01-12 |title=Lobbying to Sell Your House |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/business/lobbying-to-sell-your-house.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212171617/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/business/lobbying-to-sell-your-house.html |archive-date=2018-02-12 |access-date=2024-04-08 |work=The New York Times}}{{Cite news |last1=Kusisto |first1=Laura |last2=Friedman |first2=Nicole |date=2024-03-15 |title=Realtors Reach Settlement That Will Change How Americans Buy and Sell Homes |url=https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/realtors-settlement-change-buy-sell-homes-da45eb23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315135229/https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/realtors-settlement-change-buy-sell-homes-da45eb23 |archive-date=2024-03-15 |access-date=2024-04-08 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}{{Cite news |last=Finley |first=Allysia |date=2024-04-05 |title=The Realtors Still Need Market Reform |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-realtors-still-need-market-reform-antitrust-home-real-estate-6663bec6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405191943/https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-realtors-still-need-market-reform-antitrust-home-real-estate-6663bec6 |archive-date=2024-04-05 |access-date=2024-04-08 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} In 2023, the organization spent $52 million on lobbying, ranking second on the OpenSecrets list of top spenders.{{Cite web |date= |title=Top Spenders |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/top-spenders |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225140537/https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/top-spenders |archive-date=2024-02-25 |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=OpenSecrets}} It has spent a total of $850 million on lobbying since 1998.{{Cite web |title=National Assn of Realtors |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/national-assn-of-realtors/summary?toprecipcycle=2024&contribcycle=2024&lobcycle=2024&outspendcycle=2022&id=d000000062&topnumcycle=A |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409160225/https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/national-assn-of-realtors/summary?toprecipcycle=2024&contribcycle=2024&lobcycle=2024&outspendcycle=2022&id=d000000062&topnumcycle=A |archive-date=2024-04-09 |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=OpenSecrets}}

The Real Estate Political Education Committee (REPEC), a political action committee, was formed in 1969 for the purpose of electing realtor-friendly candidates.{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://realtorparty.realtor/about-us/history.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409154336/https://realtorparty.realtor/about-us/history.html |archive-date=2024-04-09 |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=realtorparty.realtor |language=en-US}} It was renamed the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) in 1974 following changes to federal election law.{{Cite web |title=REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) Research Guide |url=https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/rpac-research-guide-updated-2022.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409154106/https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/rpac-research-guide-updated-2022.pdf |archive-date=2024-04-09 |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=nar.realtor}} RPAC now claims to be the largest trade association PAC in the country and gives around $4 million per year to candidates who support real estate interests.{{Cite news |last=Capuzzo |first=Jill P. |date=2021-03-26 |title=Talk Politics? Some Brokers Are Only Too Happy to Do So. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/realestate/brokers-politics-hate-speech.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326090429/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/realestate/brokers-politics-hate-speech.html |archive-date=2021-03-26 |access-date=2024-04-09 |work=The New York Times}}{{Cite web |title=Top PACs |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/top-pacs/2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409155131/https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/top-pacs/2022 |archive-date=2024-04-09 |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=OpenSecrets}} The N.A.R.'s website says "RPAC is one of the most bipartisan PACs in the country, giving to both Democrats and Republicans alike",{{Cite web |date=2012-01-11 |title=RPAC Disbursements |url=https://www.nar.realtor/rpac/rpac-disbursements |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=www.nar.realtor |language=en}} and historically half of its expenditures have gone to Democrats, and the other half to Republicans.{{Cite web |last=Kamin |first=Debra |date=December 9, 2024 |title=How a Realtors' Nonprofit Quietly Funds Conservative Advocacy Groups |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/realestate/nar-real-estate-politics.html |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}{{Cite web |title=REALTORS® Political Action Committee Fundraising Guide |url=https://realtorparty.realtor/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Resources-RPAC-RPAC-Fundraising-Guide.pdf |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=realtorparty.realtor |page=10}}

Around 2019, N.A.R.created an affiliate nonprofit called the American Property Owners Alliance; in its first four years, the nonprofit, solely funded by the N.A.R., gave $12.8 million in grants, with almost $10m of that going to Republican-aligned super PACs and groups with conservative agendas.

Between 1924 and 1950, the Realtor Code of Ethics included explicit references to racial segregation. {{Cite book |last=Norman |first=Jeff |title=Temescal Legacies |publisher=Shared Ground |year=2006 |isbn=0977889300 |language=100}}{{cite web|title=Code of Ethics of the National Association of Real Estate Boards (1924)|url=https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/COE1924.pdf}}{{Cite web |title=Realtors were once REQUIRED to discriminate |url=https://www.inman.com/2014/04/17/realtor-code-of-ethics-once-required-discrimination/ |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=Inman |language=en-US}}

{{Quote box

| quote = A realtor should never be instrumental in introducing into a neighborhood… members of any race or nationality or any individual whose presence will be clearly detrimental to property values in that neighborhood.

| author =

| source = Code of Ethics, National association of real estate boards, 1924

}}

Realtors were prohibited from helping Black homebuyers move into white neighborhoods and faced career-ending penalties for not complying.{{Cite book |last=Rothstein |first=Richard |title=The color of law: a forgotten history of how our government segregated America |date=2018 |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-1-63149-453-6 |edition=First published as a Liveright paperback 2018 |location=New York London |pages=62}}{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Keeanga-Yamahtta |title=Race for profit: how banks and the real estate industry undermined black homeownership |date=2019 |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-4696-5366-2 |series=Justice, power, and politics |location=Chapel Hill |pages=259}} The clause encouraging segregation was not fully removed from the Realtor Code of Ethics until 1974.{{Cite web |date=2020-11-19 |title=An Apology From the National Association of REALTORS® |url=https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/commentary/an-apology-from-the-national-association-of-realtors |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.nar.realtor |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2021-12-21 |title=The National Association of Realtors Is Sorry About All the Discrimination |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-12-21/real-estate-agents-want-to-fix-housing-discrimination-but-keep-their-commission |access-date=2024-04-08 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}

The National Association of Realtors opposed the Fair Housing Act in 1968, which outlawed racial discrimination in home sales.{{Cite web |date=2020-11-19 |title=NAR President Charlie Oppler Apologizes for Past Policies that Contributed to Racial Inequality |url=https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-president-charlie-oppler-apologizes-for-past-policies-that-contributed-to-racial-inequality |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=www.nar.realtor |language=en}}

File:U.S. Housing Price Measures - Index and Dollar Price Value.png

Some experts{{cite web

| title=The Subprime Blame Game: Where Were the Realtors?

| date=October 17, 2007

| series=Knowledge@Wharton

| url=http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1824

| access-date=December 3, 2012

| publisher=Wharton University of Pennsylvania

}}

believe that brokers and realtors bear at least partial responsibility for the subprime mortgage crisis, purposefully inflating the perceived market values of homes, and subsequently encouraging buyers to take out larger mortgages than needed. The theory is that collusion with mortgage lenders enabled realtors to earn high volumes of commission on borrowed money for inflated house values with no risk to the realtors. Many victims{{who|date=June 2023}} feel that home buyers were tricked into taking out larger loans to buy more expensive homes, and the higher sales prices paid the realtors higher commissions. This practice{{clarify|date=June 2023}} is not considered "unethical" by the NAR which claims to be a Self-regulatory organization; however, obvious implications{{clarify|date=June 2023}} show extensive and substantial harm rendered to the public. Many victims are encouraging the Securities and Exchange Commission to begin aggressively regulating{{cite web

| title=Is it time to regulate real estate agents?

| date=January 12, 2009

| url=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/01/12/is-it-time-to-regulate-real-estate-agents/

}}

agents and refunding overpayments to homebuyers.

In 2005, the United States Department of Justice filed a formal complaint against the National Association of Realtors for violating Section 4 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.{{cite web|title=United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division|url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f211000/211009.htm|publisher=US Justice Department|access-date=19 April 2013}}{{cite web|title=Justice Department Sues National Association of Realtors for Limiting Competition Among Real Estate Brokers|url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2005/211008.htm|publisher=US Department of Justice|access-date=19 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114092421/http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2005/211008.htm|archive-date=14 January 2013}} The complaint sought to enjoin the National Association of Realtors "from maintaining or enforcing a policy that restrains competition from brokers who use the Internet to more efficiently and cost effectively serve home sellers and buyers, and from adopting other related anticompetitive rules.

The DOJ challenged NAR's MLS rules that inhibited competition from Internet-based brokers.{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/cmls.htm|title=United States v. Consolidated Multiple Listing Service, Inc.|publisher=US Department of Justice|access-date=19 April 2013}} On November 18, 2008, the Court entered a Final Judgment approving a settlement against NAR.

Under the Final Judgment, the NAR agreed to the policies challenged by the United States and replaced those policies with rules that do not discriminate against brokers who use the Internet to provide low-priced brokerage services to consumers.{{cite web|title=United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division|url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f239600/239655.htm|publisher=US Department of Justice|access-date=19 April 2013}}

In 2012, American Home Realty Network, Inc., the operator of NeighborCity, filed antitrust counterclaims in response to a pair of copyright lawsuits, alleging that the "copyright lawsuits filed against it by two multiple listing services with financial backing from the National Association of Realtors are part of a concerted effort by NAR to drive the company out of business and eliminate it as a provider of services to real estate brokers."{{cite web|last=Brambila|first=Andrea|title=NAR, MRIS hit with antitrust suit|url=http://www.inman.com/news/2012/09/26/nar-mris-hit-with-antitrust-suit|publisher=Inman|access-date=19 April 2013}} The counter-claims also allege that the copyrights asserted were never properly registered.{{cite web|title=Fight Over Real Estate Listings Escalates As NeighborCity Counters Copyright Claims With Antitrust Accusations|date=11 October 2012 |url=http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121004/18581320614/fight-over-real-estate-listings-escalates-as-neighborcity-counters-copyright-claims-with-antitrust-accusations.shtml|publisher=Techdirt|access-date=19 April 2013}} In the Minnesota case, which recites claims against the NAR but does not directly name the NAR as a counter-defendant, AHRN filed a second amended counterclaim adding Edina Realty and Home Services of America as Counter-Defendants in the antitrust and unfair competition claims.{{cite web|title=In the United States District Court for the District of Maryland Greenbelt Division|url=http://cache.inman.com/files/stories/Answerandcounterclaim_Doc46_092412.pdf|publisher=Inman|access-date=19 April 2013}} Edina Realty is a subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company, which owns real estate brokerage firms in states across the country, including Minnesota, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, South Carolina, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, and California.{{cite web|last=Fuller|first=Matt|title=Neighborcity.com alleges NAR, MRIS, NorthstarMLS violate anti-trust laws: op/ed|url=http://agbeat.com/editorials/neighborcity-com-alleges-nar-mris-northstarmls-violat-anti-trust-laws-oped/|publisher=AG Beat|access-date=19 April 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bhhsgeorgia.com/default.asp?p=pressreleases.asp&location=item&itemid=84788|title=HomeServices of America, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Prudential Georgia Realty|date=March 19, 2013|website=BHHS Georgia|publisher=Home Services|access-date=19 April 2013}} Earlier in 2012, the mid-Atlantic multiple listing service Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS) and St. Paul, MN-based Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota Inc. (NorthstarMLS) filed copyright claims against NeighborCity. The National Association of Realtors said it would provide financial support for NorthstarMLS and MRIS legal expenses.{{cite web|title=MLS says no thanks to NAR funds for MRIS v. NeighborCity|url=http://aimgroup.com/2012/10/08/mls-says-no-thanks-to-nar-funds-for-mris-v-neighborcity/|publisher=Aim Group|access-date=19 April 2013}}{{cite web|last=Brambila|first=Andrea|title=NAR helping MLSs cover costs of NeighborCity copyright suits|url=http://www.inman.com/news/2012/05/22/nar-helping-mlss-cover-costs-neighborcity-copyright-suits|publisher=Inman|access-date=19 April 2013}}

Another lawsuit was filed in March 2019 challenging NAR's compensation policies which require all member brokers demand blanket, non-negotiable buyer-side commission fees when listing a home on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS).{{Cite web |last=Yale |first=Aly J. |title=Lawsuit Alleges Collusion, Inflated Commissions Among Realtors |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alyyale/2019/03/19/lawsuit-alleges-collusion-inflated-commissions-among-realtors/ |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Real-Estate Commissions Antitrust {{!}} Hagens Berman |url=https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/real-estate-broker-commissions-antitrust |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=www.hbsslaw.com |date=6 March 2019 |language=en}}

{{Main|Burnett v. National Association of Realtors}}

On October 31, 2023, a federal civil jury found that the NAR had conspired to inflate commissions paid to home-buyers' real estate agents, and determined that NAR and its codefendants owed damages of almost {{USD|1.8}}{{nbsp}}billion.{{citation|author1-last=Kamin|author1-first=Debra|title=Home Sellers Win $1.8 Billion After Jury Finds Conspiracy Among Realtors|work=The New York Times website|date=2023-10-31|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/realestate/nar-antitrust-lawsuit.html|archive-date=2023-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031223935/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/realestate/nar-antitrust-lawsuit.html|url-status=live|quote=A federal jury ruled on Tuesday that the powerful National Association of Realtors and several large brokerages had conspired to artificially inflate the commissions paid to real estate agents, a decision that could radically alter the home-buying process in the United States.}}{{citation|author1-last=Knutson|author1-first=Jacob|title=Federal jury verdict on broker fees rocks real estate industry|url=https://www.axios.com/2023/10/31/nar-lawsuit-brokers-fees-verdict-sitzer-burnett|date=2023-10-31|work=Axios|quote=Representatives for the NAR and HomeServices of America said they planned to appeal the verdict, while a spokesperson for Keller Williams said the company would consider appealing.}} The lawsuit, Burnett et al v. National Association of Realtors et al, was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in Kansas City, and involved allegations of violations of federal and state antitrust laws by the NAR, HomeServices of America, Keller Williams Realty, Anywhere Real Estate (parent of Coldwell Banker, Century 21 Real Estate, and Sotheby's International Realty) and Re/Max.{{citation|title=Burnett et al v. National Association of Realtors et al|work=United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri website|url=https://www.mow.uscourts.gov/ca-cases/19-cv-332|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031225802/https://www.mow.uscourts.gov/ca-cases/19-cv-332|archive-date=2023-10-31|url-status=live}} Anywhere and Re/Max had previously settled their liability and agreed to pay lesser damages, leaving NAR, HomeServices and Keller Williams to defend the suit at trial. Upon announcement of the verdict and before final judgment was entered, NAR and HomeServices stated their intention to appeal, and Keller Williams was considering doing so.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/national-association-realtors-crisis-lawsuits-home-buyers-6030e372?mod=hp_lead_pos11|title=Realtors Are in Crisis—and Home Buyers Could Be the Winners|website=The Wall Street Journal|first1=Laura|last1=Kusisto|first2=Nicole|last2=Friedman|date=February 16, 2024}} In March 2024, NAR agreed to settle for a reduction of damages to {{USD|418}}{{nbsp}}million, eliminating its rules on commissions, and waiving its right to appeal.{{cite news |title=Powerful Realtor Group Agrees to Slash Commissions to Settle Lawsuits |date=15 March 2024 |first=Debra |last=Kamin |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/15/realestate/national-association-realtors-commission-settlement.html}} As a result of the settlement, starting August 2024, buyers’ agents commission fees are not allowed to be advertised and buyers must sign a contract with their agent before seeing properties together.{{Cite web |last=Delouya |first=Samantha |date=2024-08-17 |title=The NAR settlement comes into effect today: Here's what changing and why {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/17/business/nar-realtor-settlement-what-changes-wellness/index.html |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=CNN |language=en}} The Wall Street Journal reported the settlement is expected to reduce real estate commissions, force some agents out of the industry, and lead to a decline in NAR’s membership.{{Cite news |last=Friedman |first=Laura Kusisto and Nicole |title=Realtors Reach Settlement That Will Change How Americans Buy and Sell Homes |url=https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/realtors-settlement-change-buy-sell-homes-da45eb23?mod=WTRN_pos2&cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_164&cx_artPos=1 |access-date=2024-03-16 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}}

Realtors, as members of NAR, also have the option of studying for additional certifications in a variety of specialties, several of which are backed by NAR with offerings of certification and update courses available nationwide.[http://www.realtor.org/runivers.nsf/pages/designation?OpenDocument NAR Accredited Designations & Courses]. National Association of Realtors.

The NAR launched HouseLogic.com in February 2010 in an attempt to reach consumers directly for the first time.{{cite news| url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-home-0226-local-scene-chomes-20100226,0,7154893.column | work=Chicago Tribune | title=Realtors looking for special bond with consumers | first=Local | last=Scene | date=2010-02-26}}

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