The U.S. real estate industry has experienced some significant shifts in the last several years. High borrowing costs, changes in compensation due to a legal settlement, and low housing inventory have made the market even more challenging for moving employees (sellers/buyers), brokers, and the talent mobility sector. We spoke with three experts on how these factors have affected buyer/brokers and real estate.
Broker Compensation Today
Prior to the 2024 March National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement, the compensation for the buyer’s broker during a home sale was often paid for by the seller as part of the overall commission. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) often disclosed that commission information, including the percentage earned by each broker. This practice effectively enabled the seller to drive the conversation around commissions for each broker, which then became the subject to litigation claiming these practices violated antitrust laws and reduced competition among brokers.
Joan M. Brady, SCRP, GMS, attorney at law for Morreale, Brady & Malone, P.C. and member of the WERC Broker Litigation Real Estate Service Subcommittee, explains that the March 2024 NAR settlement resolved the allegations regarding broker compensation for 19 class actions, most notably the Moehrl and Sitzer-Burnett cases. It received final court approval on 26 November 2024. “That settlement agreement essentially resolved the pending seller damage claims for properties that were listed and sold between 2017 and 2023,” she says. “Two major components of the settlement, in addition to the $418 million, were policy changes that (1) all buyer-broker relationships must essentially begin with and include a written representation and compensation agreement, and (2) property listings could no longer include any reference to whether a seller was willing to pay compensation to the buyer’s broker.”
Those policies became effective 17 August 2024 and remain in full force to date. WERC Broker Committee Chair Ryan Carrell, CRP, GDS, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Carpenter Realtors, adds that many of the settlement’s practices are now either “codified by state law or have been adopted as common practice for brokers to avail themselves of the settlement protection in most markets.”
“[Prior to the settlement,] a listing broker typically negotiated a commission amount with the seller of a property and offered a portion of that total commission to buyer brokerages as compensation for completing a transaction,” Carrell says. In many markets, he notes, these commissions have been decoupled, which allows sellers to negotiate the commission to their listing broker and the buyers to sign their own agreements that outline compensation for the buyer’s agency.
The Impact on Talent Mobility
Early on, many were concerned that the NAR settlement would have a dramatic impact on talent relocation. Now, with nearly a year of hindsight, Brady likens it to the Y2K phenomenon. “The fear of the unknown outweighed the actual impact and reality.”
Sellers are, overall, continuing to include buyer broker compensation in their offers. Kathryn Couture, CRP, GMS, senior vice president of the Atlantic and Midwest Regions for Altair Global, says that this has eased some companies’ concerns that additional relocation dollars would be needed to support their relocating employees.
In the talent mobility sector, corporate clients are offering to pay a certain percentage of broker compensation. “This is regardless of whether it is paid to the seller’s listing broker or the buyer’s selling broker,” Brady says.
The final proceeds sellers receive from a home sale has not substantially changed as a result of the settlement. However, Carrell says, “The changes have added a layer of complexity to talent mobility.” Broker compensation remains a customary part of any home sale. Lenders still do not view the seller’s payment of buyer broker compensation as reimbursement to the buyer. Brady points out, “The change in structure has led to greater transparency and an ability for each party to negotiate compensation as part of the actual contract terms of the sale.” Compensation is no longer a commonly predetermined amount based on traditional practices. “In less than one year since the new policies became effective, companies, RMCs, lenders, transferee sellers, and buyers have made new policies business as usual,” she says.
Employee transferees with no prior relocation experience will need to learn about the new process, as many are not intimately familiar with these changes. A broad policy stance on compensation is unlikely, given the different approaches to compensation in each market and among different brokerages. “[WERC continues to] focus on education for both the customer and the employer, and to monitor broker network utilization, policy recommendations, and exceptions specific to buyer compensation to identify trends,” Couture says.
Hard budget decisions are also likely to impact corporate mobility policies as they account for market shifts related to buyer/broker compensation. “RMCs and their corporate clients have seen more exceptions to compensation policy when adjusting to these new market procedures,” Carrell says. It is clear that talent mobility policies are still evolving with regard to buyer broker compensation.
NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy
Another policy change impacting both brokers and consumers is NAR’s clarification of its Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which indicates that publicly marketed properties must be actively listed in the MLS within one day of being marketed. This can include the use of yard signs, digital marketing, and flyers. “The CCP is meant to ensure transparency and competitive cooperation among real estate professionals, preventing listings from being privately marketed to limit exposure to the larger consumer pool of buyers and brokers,” Brady says.
However, there are some exceptions. For instance, if the seller provides written consent and direction, a broker can initially maintain a property as an office-exclusive listing before any public marketing begins. A seller also has the right to delay public marketing until they are prepared for a public listing to go live, according to NAR policies. “In the talent mobility space, the timing and speed of execution can be critical to a successful move,” Carrell says, noting that reduced public exposure of a listing could have a significant impact on such a move.
Brady cautions that there are relocation-specific challenges in relation to CCP exceptions, particularly regarding private or pocket listings or delayed marketing strategies. “They may complicate the calculation of relocation benefits for a transferring employee-seller, who must market the property for a specific period of time, prior to qualifying for additional home sale benefits,” she says. “It is questionable as to whether a private listing or delayed marketing election will meet the relocation home-sale program’s listing requirements.”
Like most homebuyers, transferee employees want the broadest selection of properties to choose from when relocating. Ultimately, this works in both parties’ favor. “Most sellers feel they receive the highest value for the home when exposed to the broadest pool of buyers,” Couture says. This is at the heart of the CCP, with some caveat. “The sparring over the benefits and disadvantages by both camps continues to play out,” she says.
Brady and Carrell agree that, so far, CCP has not had a substantial impact on talent relocations—at least, not yet. The impact of the policy continues to be monitored by the U.S. Department of Justice and others because, as Brady says, “the CCP pushes against the spirit of the NAR settlement terms for greater transparency in the home sale process.” As a result, Brady says that the CCP is considered controversial by many.
Carrell foresees future litigation, particularly in the luxury market where exceptions would be more likely. “There certainly may be cases in the future … where a transferee opts for limited exposure, exclusivity, and more privacy than an open market listing, but ends with a negative financial or extended move result,” he says.
Clear expectations are essential in the home-sale process. Couture advises buyers to ask clear questions about which homes they will have access to and if property listings will be limited. “If they are only viewing private brokerage sites, in a seller’s market where buyers have been in multiple offer situations, this may limit the inventory access, exacerbate the negotiations process, and add to their stress,” she says. Transparency can curb confusion and ensure buyer satisfaction in the relocation process.
Navigating Market Trends
In addition to policy and compensation changes, buyers have seen house prices rise in many markets and mortgage interest rates hover near 7%. Mortgage-interest rates of 6%-7% have been common throughout history, but BMO’s 2025 Real Financial Progress Index found that nearly seven in 10 U.S. adults’ home purchasing decisions have been impacted by these high rates.
Not surprisingly, first-time homebuyers are those most impacted by these higher expenses. “Unlike current homeowners who have participated in the wealth building of their homes’ equity, first-time homebuyers have often seen wages that have not kept up with interest rates and house prices,” Carrell says. “Concessions from sellers to help buy down rates are still not prevalent (outside of some new construction) even as demand outpaces supply in most markets.”
Buyers’ purchasing power has declined, according to Brady, given these current market conditions. Couture agrees, noting that potential home sellers also feel that their hands are tied because mortgage rates are much higher than they were when they first purchased their current home. These home sellers would rather remain in their home than downsize or purchase another home at high mortgage interest rates. “This means inventory in many parts of the country remain low, continuing to hold up house values and limiting properties to purchase,” she says. Current market conditions remain a challenge for lenders, buyers, sellers, and relocation professionals.
To help buyers and sellers, Carrell advises brokers and consumers to educate their clients about current market conditions and the value of homeownership. “As practitioners, it is difficult for us to create inventory, but life events (i.e., birth, death, marriage, divorce, and relocation) continue daily and have long been a driving factor in real estate transactions,” he says.
Real estate transactions are a constant no matter what the market conditions may be. “During the last 20 years, our industry has weathered interest rates of 8% to 2.5%, we have weathered devastating natural disasters, floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, dust storms, and blizzards,” Brady says. “We have survived the burst of the real estate bubble, stock market peaks and valleys, unexpected election results, global pandemics, supply train interruptions, and amazing humanity. We are still here doing what we do. Relocation and the talent mobility sector may look different, but as always, it is just another way of getting it done.”
Relocation professionals, especially broker relocation directors and qualified and relocation trained broker/agents are key to keeping the relocation home sale and destination home purchase transactions moving in the right direction. Brokers need to establish realistic expectations with both buyers and sellers. “Calm heads during stressful times are part and parcel of a broker’s effectiveness,” Brady says.