Flat-Fee Brokerage Homie Sues NAR, Competitors

The National Association of Realtors is no friend to flat-fee brokerage Homie, according to a lawsuit filed by the Utah-based company.

Homie is accusing NAR and some of the country’s top brokerages of anticompetitive practices and stifling innovation, HousingWire reported. A number of brokerages are named as defendants in the case, including Anywhere Real Estate, Keller Williams, HomeServices of America and RE/MAX.

Homie alleges that buyer agents didn’t care for the company’s 1.5 percent buyer broker compensation and steered clients away from Homie listings. Its claim hings on NAR’s recently-changed commission guidelines, previously the subject of a slew of antitrust lawsuits and its $418 million settlement to resolve claims from homebuyers.

NAR-member brokers allegedly sent text messages when its Participation Rule was in effect saying they would not show Homie listings due to the limited agent compensation, the brokerage claims in the suit.

“The anticipated wave of disruptive innovation and entry into the residential real estate brokerage market has not yet occurred because Defendants conspired to prevent it,” Homie said in its complaint. The company added that the defendants’ alleged actions “harmed competition, harmed consumers, and caused injury and damages to Homie.”

Homie is requesting a jury trial and is seeking damages, as well as an injunction against the defendants.

A spokesperson for NAR told Inman the trade group would respond to the lawsuit’s claims in court. Keller Williams and Anywhere declined comment.

The suit stands out from the antitrust litigation that rocked the industry in the last year because a company is behind the case, not a class of homebuyers or homesellers. Homie has sought to brand itself as a disruptor for “every homebuyer and seller who’s had to endure a system that puts profits over people.”

Homie’s goal to disrupt the brokerage industry has run up against difficulties since the company’s founding in 2015, including multiple rounds of layoffs and changes at the top of the company. This year, it moved its agents from W2 employees to 1099 contractors.

— Holden Walter-Warner