A national legal settlement will change how Oregonians buy, sell homes

A key lockbox, the type used by realtors, attached to a fence

A key lockbox at a townhome for sale in Beaverton on Thurs., June 30, 2022.Dave Killen / The Oregonian

The Oregon-Washington real estate listing service RMLS this month announced it will opt into the terms of a national settlement that could dramatically change buying and selling homes, and potentially lower costs.

The settlement, reached in a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors this spring, prohibits including sale commissions on real estate listings. Plaintiffs in the suit had said including compensation on sale listings amounted to price-fixing, encouraged steering buyers to more expensive homes and inflated agents’ compensation overall.

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