CASE FILES / BURNETT v. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
COMINGSAT 24 OCT 2026 · 5:00 PM ET · LONG-FORM

The realtor's 6%

A jury found Missouri home sellers were overcharged nearly $1.8 billion in commissions. The case was about a 1996 rule: listings had to offer the buyer's agent a cut before any buyer appeared. The defendants settled for over a billion dollars, and since August 2024 sellers don't have to offer that cut. The full case file, from the public record: how the commission worked, the rule, the verdict, the settlement, and what happened to the fee.

The realtor's 6%: the full case file

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$1.785B

in damages, a jury found, for a class of Missouri home sellers.

VERDICT FORM, 31 OCT 2023, P. 2
Over $1B

settlement fund across all the defendants, for sellers nationwide.

8TH CIR., 19 AUG 2026, P. 11
2.42%

average buyer's agent fee in Q3 2025, about where it was before the change (2.43%). Redfin's numbers.

REDFIN, MAY AND DEC 2025
The record

The documents. Every number points to a page.

Verdict form, Burnett (Sitzer) v. National Association of Realtors, No. 4:19-cv-00332-SRB (W.D. Mo.), Document 1294, 31 Oct 2023PAGES 1 TO 3
ON THE COURT DOCKET
Eighth Circuit opinion, Burnett v. National Association of Realtors, No. 24-3444 (19 Aug 2026)SLIP OPINION PAGES 8 TO 13
Open
NAR, what the settlement means for home buyers and sellers (a party's own page)PRACTICE CHANGES, 17 AUG 2024
Open
Redfin, buyer's agent commissions, Q3 2025 (Redfin's own sample)COMPANY DATA, 8 DEC 2025
Open

What the record is. The verdict was for a class of Missouri home sellers, for 2015 to 2022. The defendants settled while their post-trial motions were pending. The settlement covers sellers nationwide, about 2014 to 2024, and the appeals court upheld it on 19 August 2026; that appeal was about the settlement, not the jury's verdict. Redfin's figures are its own sample and cover the buyer's agent fee only.

NumberWhat it isWhere
$1,785,310,872Damages the jury found, Missouri classVerdict form p. 2
5 to 6%Combined commission sellers paid, roughly, split about evenly8th Cir. op. p. 9
$418M / $250MNAR's and HomeServices of America's settlement payments8th Cir. op. p. 11
Over $1BSettlement fund across all defendants8th Cir. op. p. 11
2.43% to 2.42%Average buyer's agent commission, Q1 2024 to Q3 2025, Redfin's own sampleRedfin, May and Dec 2025
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Open the documents above. Every number in the video points to its page.

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