US brokers fear for their $100bn commission pool
A barrage of legal challenges to the fees charged in US home sales has cast doubt over the future earnings of a 1.6mn-strong profession known for offering flexible and high-paying careers, particularly to women. A federal jury in Missouri sided with a group of home sellers in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois last month, finding the largest US real estate brokerages liable for nearly $1.8bn in damages for conspiring to keep commissions high.Home buyers and sellers in other states have filed four additional class-action complaints challenging realtors’ fees in the past...
