Real estate news, advice and warnings to revisit heading into 2025 

Week after week in 2024, the residential brokerage world was flooded with industry-shaking news, making it a challenge for real estate professionals to keep up with the headlines or understand their impact. Often, it was the commentary from industry leaders and outside experts that helped to unpack current events — and in many cases, those comments became news in itself. 

After an action-packed year of legal challenges, practice changes, mergers and acquisitions and more, we sought to highlight some key comments that shaped the narrative in the real estate brokerage world. 

'Treat your buyers like your sellers'

In the aftermath of the NAR settlement, eXp CEO Leo Pareja and Holly Mabery, SVP of Brokerage Operations, spoke to agents about the upcoming practice changes and the need for a new level of professionalism, framing the news in very straightforward terms.

"It's very simple," Pajera said of the changing approach to buyer agency. "Treat your buyers like you treat your sellers — which translates to having a buyer presentation as good as your listing presentation."

'Lead with grace'

The months following the NAR settlement were a challenging time for brokerages and team leads whose job pivoted to prepping new forms and training agents on new industry standards and rule changes. But Real Brokerage President Sharran Srivatsaa encouraged his agents to be empathetic toward other agents who may not be fully prepared or knowledgeable of the settlement changes. 

"If this is the most complex set of changes that is going to hit in our recent lifetime. We have to lead with grace," he said. "On the outside, this may look very simplistic, but I'm telling you, it's not — you're seeing the misinformation and implementation issues from the NAR level, at the broker level, at the state based level. There's so many complexities."

The theme seemed to catch on — Anywhere Brands and Advisors CEO & President Sue Yannaccone also used the phrase when speaking to the brokerage giant's massive agent population in August, saying she believed "leading with grace is a really important thing" because "not everybody is going to be prepared — or as prepared as you may be."

'One-size-fits-all approach does nothing to spur this industry forward'

Toward the end of the year, an unlikely battle emerged between the Phoenix Realtors and the National Association of Realtors over the former's new MLS Choice program for brokerages, which would give agents access to important forms and data without joining the local Realtor association. Phoenix Realtors CEO Andy Fegley told Real Estate News in November that the program was essentially a "modernization" effort to "create a choice for brokers on how they wish to run their business," but NAR moved quickly in December to begin the process of revoking the local association's charter.

"[The MLS Choice subscription] allows [agents] to ask the question, 'What level of programs and services do I actually need to be successful?' And anyone serving real estate professionals should stand in support of that: creating the ideal environment for success. A 'one-size-fits-all' approach does nothing to spur this industry forward, something that desperately needs to happen," Fegley said. 

'Expect the DOJ to get their wings clipped'

Broker-owner and real estate industry influencer Anthony Lamacchia has been a vocal critic of the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming that the government body under the Biden administration has specifically targeted and disrupted the residential real estate world. In the wake of the presidential election in November, Lamacchia took the stage at NAR NXT to offer his assessment of the DOJ and what might change in 2025. 

"I expect the DOJ to get their wings clipped and I'm happy about that. They deserve it," Lamacchia said to the audience of real estate professionals. After his session, he expanded on that idea in a conversation with Real Estate News, asserting that the DOJ has been "overplaying their hand in many different areas," and that "when the new president comes in, you're going to see the upper echelon in the DOJ looking for jobs."

Ending investigations 'a nonstarter'; 'excited' to litigate

The DOJ may have other ideas, however. In a December 10 filing to the Supreme Court, the agency reiterated its position that it has the right to continue investigating NAR and industry practices. The Department of Justice, referring to itself as "the Division," informed the high court that it repeatedly told NAR it would not promise to never take up antitrust issues again. "The Division explained that it viewed such a commitment as 'a nonstarter'" that would violate longstanding policies, the filing stated.

And that's not the only legal risk to the industry in the new year. During the November hearing to approve the NAR and HomeServices settlements, lead plaintiffs attorney Micheal Ketchmark said he was "delighted" with the outcome of the Sitzer/Burnett case and — which led to industry-wide practice changes and a settlement fund that exceeds $1 billion. 

But several defendants remain in Gibson/Umpa, and Ketchmark said he was eager to carry on with the case — expressing particular interest in the deep pockets of Warren Buffett. "We're moving forward against Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and we're excited to continue to litigate that case," Ketchmark said. "And if we can't get it resolved, we'll be back in this very courthouse and going to trial and holding them accountable if necessary. That's what we'll do."