HGAR Holds Programs for Members to ‘Understand the NAR Settlement Agreement’

WHITE PLAINS—The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors recently held highly informative presentations, first at the White Plains headquarters office on Aug. 14 and virtually on Aug. 20 to have HGAR members understand the National Association of Realtors commission settlement and provide them the tools to conduct business in the evolving real estate brokerage environment.

The Aug. 14^th session at the HGAR offices was hosted by HGAR Chief Executive Officer Lynda Fernandez and featured antitrust industry expert Brian Schneider, Esq. of ArentFox Schiff, LLP. The online session on Aug. 20 featured HGAR General Counsel and Professional Standards Administrator Brian Levine.

The NAR practice changes that went into effect on Aug. 17 included:

• Offers of compensation are now prohibited on Multiple Listing Services (MLSs). Offers of compensation will continue to be an option consumers can pursue off-MLS through negotiation and consultation with real estate professionals.
• Agents working with a buyer must enter into a written buyer agreement before the buyer can tour a home. The practice changes do not require an agency agreement or dictate any type of relationship.

Schneider during his presentation related that there are five rules Realtors should follow to be protected from future lawsuits:

1. Have a buyer agreement signed before first showing/tour that includes amount broker may receive from any source.
2. If making an offer of compensation, the seller must first approve in writing.
3. Disclose that commissions are not set by law and are negotiable.
4. You cannot represent services are “free” or “available at no cost” unless there is no financial compensation from any source.
5. You cannot filter or restrict listings communicated to a client based on amount offered to buyer broker (Also: Must be a Realtor by August 2024.

Mandated MLS policy changes per the NAR settlement agreement were implemented by OneKey MLS on Aug. 8 when all listings on OneKey MLS that were not under a valid contract for sale, must now have a new listing agreement (or addendum) that complies with the NAR settlement agreement mandate. Note: those listings that are under a valid contract for sale prior to Aug. 8 did not need to be updated.

The sessions with Schneider and HGAR’s Levine concluded with lively and very informative question and answer sessions.

The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors has established a one-stop location for members to get the latest tools, forms and information on the NAR settlement and the practice changes dictated by the settlement reached in March of this year. HGAR members are encouraged to go to: https://hgar.com/news-stats/nar-settlement. For forms, HGAR members should go to the Documents section of the HGAR website.

At the HGAR site, Schneider’s entire presentation including graphics and a video recording are available. In addition are a host of videos and blogs from a variety of sources including NAR, the New York State Association of Realtors and HGAR. The Aug. 20^th session, the second given by Levine, can be found at: https://www.hgar.com/news-stats/nar-settlement.