Welcome to real estate insights born from many years “in the trenches.” This site cuts through the theory to deliver down-to-earth, field-tested advice for homeowners, buyers, and industry pros—covering everything from buying and selling to investing and development. It’s all practical knowledge for making smarter property decisions.
Latest news on real estate laws, regulations, and policy changes impacting the market.
Maybe Subagency Isn’t So Crazy After All
So… Rob Hahn stirred the pot again. In his recent piece, A Modest Proposal: Bring Back Subagency, Rob suggests we ditch buyer agency and go back to the “good old days” where everyone worked for the seller—and he makes the case better than I expected.
Just days after I wrote about the controversy surrounding NAR’s Standard of Practice 10-5 (SOP 10-5), the National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors has officially ratified changes to the standard. As expected, the updates focus on clarifying the definition of “harassment” and narrowing its scope to only apply when REALTORS® are acting in a professional capacity.
This morning’s move at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings in Chicago formalizes the proposed revisions that had been in the works since 2023. According to NAR President Kevin Sears, the aim is to better align Article 10 of the Code of Ethics with similar standards used by other large trade associations, while also easing enforcement for state and local associations.
If the preliminary vote tallies hold, Redfin shareholders just gave Rocket Companies the green light to buy them out for $1.75 billion. That vote took place yesterday, June 4, during a special meeting that followed some last-minute legal fireworks and a bit of political heat. Assuming everything stays on track, the deal will close before the end of June.
For those who haven’t been tracking it closely, this merger means Rocket, best known for Rocket Mortgage, is about to add a national real estate brokerage, tech platform, and salaried-agent workforce to its portfolio. It also means Redfin, which hasn’t had a profitable year in nearly two decades, gets absorbed into a company with the budget and appetite to scale their model nationwide.
The Fed’s new report takes a deeper look at commissions just as the industry is adjusting to the fallout from the $418 million NAR settlement. That settlement banned listing offers of compensation to buyer’s agents and required written agreements spelling out how buyer agents will be paid. A lot of folks expected this to push commission rates lower fast, or even shake up the business model. But so far, the data says otherwise. Nationally, buyer agent commissions have only dipped slightly over the past couple of decades, from about 3% to 2.7%, and most of that change happened long before the rule shift.
What’s more, the Fed found that policies like buyer agency agreements and rebate bans didn’t do much to move the needle. The bigger driver seems to be local custom and home prices. Areas with higher home values tend to have lower percentage rates, but the traditional split is still common in many places. The big question now is whether buyers, when asked to agree upfront to pay their agent, will start questioning the value more directly. If that happens, we might finally see some real changes to how agents get paid.
There’s a massive piece of legislation working its way through Congress right now… fittingly titled The One, Big, Beautiful Bill… and it includes several key provisions that could deliver real value to homeowners, investors, and real estate professionals alike.
Let’s start with taxes… the bill locks in the lower income tax brackets from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, preventing a tax hike in 2026. It also makes the higher standard deduction permanent… meaning more take-home pay for many households. In 2026, for example, a married couple filing jointly would get a $32,600 deduction under this proposal… double what it would be otherwise.
Well, here we go again—another big real estate lawsuit, but this one has a local twist and a broader punch. Compass just sued the Northwest MLS, and unlike some of the class-action commission suits making headlines, this one is very focused on listing control, competition, and, ultimately, the consumer’s right to choose how their home is marketed.
At the heart of Compass’s complaint is the claim that NWMLS, which is owned and governed by traditional brokerage firms, is shutting down competition by refusing to allow office-exclusive listings—something that’s allowed in every other state. Compass argues this isn’t just hurting them; it’s hurting homeowners too, by stripping away an option that many sellers clearly want. In fact, nearly half of Compass sellers nationwide used their pre-marketing strategy—what they call “Private Exclusives”—in Q1 this year, and in Seattle, over a third of Compass clients jumped on the offering within just a week of it being available. Then, NWMLS pulled the plug.
If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home—whether you’re working with a real estate agent or exploring other options—there’s a major shift underway that could soon impact your choices and your bottom line.
Roger Alford, a former law professor and antitrust enforcer with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), has just been appointed to one of the most powerful antitrust positions in the federal government. This may sound like insider legal news, but it has very real consequences for anyone trying to navigate the housing market.
In my previous article on April 3, 2025, “DOJ Picks Roger Alford—What it Means for NAR, Clear Cooperation, and the Future of MLS,” I emphasized how significant Alford’s appointment to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division would be for the real estate industry. Given Alford’s background as an expert witness in the landmark Sitzer/Burnett case against NAR, his views and potential policy direction are particularly influential.
Roger Alford’s testimony before the Wisconsin Senate on December 19, 2023, underscores exactly why his appointment should concern every professional in real estate. In advocating for Wisconsin Senate Bill 394, Alford highlighted the critical importance of online platforms in home sales, particularly emphasizing FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sellers who, without internet exposure on popular sites like Zillow and Redfin, face severe market disadvantages. He detailed how traditional commission structures could erase years of equity gains, directly criticizing the industry’s approach to commissions as anti-competitive.
There’s been a major development at the Department of Justice (DOJ) that’s got my attention, and it should have yours too. Roger Alford, a law professor from Notre Dame with extensive antitrust experience—most notably as an expert witness for plaintiffs in the landmark 2023 Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit against the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)—has just been appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. To put it plainly, that’s big news for real estate.
I’ve written extensively about how DOJ scrutiny is reshaping our industry, particularly regarding policies like Clear Cooperation and mandatory REALTOR® membership for MLS access. Alford’s appointment signals loud and clear that the DOJ isn’t backing off anytime soon—in fact, they’re doubling down. In the Sitzer case, Alford testified that NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) isn’t designed to benefit sellers, but rather to preserve MLS monopoly power by cutting off alternative options for agents. With him now positioned at DOJ, expect intensified scrutiny around rules that limit competition.
