eXp Realty has agreed to settle a handful of commission lawsuits, marking one of the last major brokerage holdouts to strike a deal over some of the cases.
The firm last week reached a settlement in Hooper vs. the National Association of Realtors, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal applies to several other similar lawsuits, namely Gibson.
The deal, which still needs final court approval, will see eXp put $34 million in a settlement fund, half of which will be paid within 30 days of preliminary approval; the remainder will be contributed within the following year. The brokerage will also change its business practices, though it did not specify how.
The settlement was first reported by Inman.
The brokerage said in a statement the settlement was not an admission of liability and doesn’t validate any of the claims against eXp. The company added that the settlement wasn’t expected to have a material impact on operations.
Even before a deadline came in August requiring compliance with the National Association of Realtors’ own settlement — which banned listing agents from offering compensation to buyers’ agents on Realtor-affiliated multiple listing services — eXp was updating its practices.
In July, eXp released a listing agreement specifying that it “does not share commissions with a buyer’s broker.” The listing agreement allows buyers to request concessions from sellers and moves commission negotiations from the seller and buyer’s brokers to the sellers and buyers themselves as a means of protecting agents.
The brokerage was not covered by NAR’s massive settlement because it covered brokerages and agents transacting less than $2 billion in 2022; eXp transacted $159 billion in 2022, making it the third-highest earning brokerage.
Other brokerages to reach their own settlements in the commission lawsuit legal landscape include HomeServices of America ($250 million), Compass ($57.5 million), Douglas Elliman ($17.75 million) and Redfin ($9.25 million).
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