How the $1.8 Billion Real-Estate Commissions Lawsuit Came to Be

The litigation that could end up changing how millions of Americans buy and sell homes was hiding in plain sight for three decades. 

The current set of rules governing how agents are paid, which effectively mean sellers are the ones who set compensation for buyer agents, date to the 1990s. Those rules have come under significant scrutiny, particularly as commissions have remained around 5% to 6% of the sale price even as home values have skyrocketed and many buyers do more of the work finding a home themselves online.