The board of directors of the National Association of Realtors just approved a new policy that requires MLSs to allow brokers to display buyer broker commissions, according to Inman.
Among other policy changes approved at today’s annual conference, the commissions policy will require MLSs to display buyer broker commissions on their listing sites beginning Jan. 1, 2022, and to include buyer broker commissions in the data feeds they provide to agents and brokers.
The board voted 521 in favor of the policy and 258 opposed.
The policy change is said to be inspired by the antitrust settlement between NAR and the Justice Department, which has come under heightened scrutiny in the last few weeks.
According to Inman, Committee member Andy Alloway of Nebraska said he was “all for transparency,” but feared that the policy “diminishes the role of the buyer’s agent and causes possible conflicts on transactions,” noting that other professionals do not promote their commissions on their respective websites.
Other agents have argued that if commissions are going to be included in MLS feeds than commissions from both sides of the deal should be highlighted—not just buyer reps.