Missouri Jury Deals Blow to Real Estate Industry, Awarding $1.8B in Antitrust Case Challenging Traditional Commission Structure

A Missouri jury awarded nearly $1.8 billion in damages against the National Association of Realtors for colluding to maintain high brokerage commissions.

The verdict caused shares of Zillow, Compass, and Redfin to plunge as it threatens the traditional real estate commission structure.

The Department of Justice is also investigating commission practices and could seek to ban commission sharing.

DOJ involvement poses major challenges as it could upend how real estate agents have done business for decades.

Additional class action lawsuits in Illinois seek up to $40 billion in damages related to commission practices.