An appeals court decision allowing the US Justice Department to investigate the National Association of Realtors is likely to embolden the agency’s push for even more separation between buyers’ and sellers’ agents.
The scrutiny tracks with the Biden administration’s attempts to address record-high housing costs, industry observers say.
“What they want is a more free-form—more dynamic, more negotiable—market,” said Max Besbris, a sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies housing.
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled last week that the DOJ can investigate NAR, rejecting a bid by the real estate trade group to ...