L
esley Muchow, NAR's general counsel, clears up confusion surrounding the commissions deal in a recent episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered. She addresses lingering questions about appeals, rule-breaking, and what agents and brokers should be doing under the new rules.

    The settlement is final, despite some appeals being filed. "Appeals are very common in settlements like this," Muchow explained. While an appeal could potentially send the case back to the trial judge, it's unlikely to change the deal significantly. The settlement remains approved, and agents and brokers must abide by the practice changes.

    The Justice Department's Statement of Interest has raised concerns about undoing the deal, but for now, Muchow says people shouldn't be too worried. NAR is continuing to have a productive dialogue with the agency, and real estate professionals must comply with the existing terms of the settlement.

    Non-Realtors who use an MLS are subject to the settlement practice changes, even if they're not members. Buyers can direct their agents, but real estate professionals should not filter or restrict what buyers see based on compensation offers. Cooperative compensation is still allowed, but it requires a conversation between the broker and seller.

    Seller concessions continue to be an option, as long as they are not limited to or conditioned on payment to a buyer broker. MLSs have local discretion in allowing concession fields for transmittal of information.

    The buy-side commissions cases, Batton 1 and 2, are still ongoing despite attempts to get them dismissed. The next big moment will be class certification, expected within the next year. The potential class size will be greatly reduced due to home sellers releasing their buy-side claims via the Sitzer/Burnett settlement.

    Muchow emphasized that agents and brokers must abide by the practice changes in good faith, as failing to do so could result in losing the benefit of the release and subjecting themselves to new liability.