The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently reached a settlement agreement to resolve a series of lawsuits against the organization. The key issue in the lawsuits was the practice of “tying,” whereby NAR members require that commissions paid to buyers’ agents be set by the seller’s agent when a home is listed. These practices dominate the realty market in the United States, impacting nearly 90% of all homes sold.

The settlement agreement could upend the entire realty market and meaningfully change how Americans buy and sell homes, write Ben Harris and Liam Marshall. Given that each year U.S. consumers pay around $100 billion in real estate commissions, the agreement also has the potential to affect the country’s economy more broadly.

More research and commentary

Gentrification’s impact on school demographics. Jennifer B. Ayscue, Kfir Mordechay, and David Mickey-Pabello discuss the relationships between gentrification and elementary school desegregation in three California cities. States and cities should consider proactively adopting policies to promote equitable school and neighborhood outcomes in gentrifying communities, they argue.  

Sustained debt reduction. At a time when many countries are confronting heavy and growing public debt burdens, Jamaica offers a rare example of a country that succeeded in substantially reducing its debt, say Serkan Arslanalp, Barry Eichengreen, and Peter Blair Henry in their contribution to the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.

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