Real Estate Law · August 19, 2026 · 6 min read
Today the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the NAR commission lawsuit settlement, affirming the November 2024 final approval. Parties have two weeks from today to seek a rehearing, but barring a surprise, the settlement rules that changed our industry last year are here to stay.
If you bought or sold a home in Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, or Delaware in 2025 or early 2026, you already lived through the initial jolt. Buyer-broker agreements became mandatory before showings. Compensation offers disappeared from the MLS. A lot of folks panicked, predicted chaos, then quietly adjusted.
Now the legal dust is settling. For good.
So what does this ruling actually mean if you're thinking about buying a home in Harford County or selling in Prince George's? Let me translate the headlines into something useful.
The settlement—born from antitrust lawsuits claiming NAR's old rules inflated commissions—did two big things:
First, it decoupled buyer-agent compensation from the MLS. Sellers can no longer advertise "3% to buyer's agent!" in the listing data that pumps out to Zillow and Redfin. That doesn't mean sellers can't pay a buyer's agent. It just means the offer can't live on the MLS.
Second, it required buyer's agents to have a written agreement with their client before touring homes. As a Maryland realtor working across four states, I now sit down with every buyer—whether they're searching for a townhouse in Baltimore City or a farm in York County, PA—and we sign paperwork before I unlock a single door.
Some buyers hated it at first. It felt like commitment before the first date. But honestly? It's clarified expectations in ways that help everyone.
The Eighth Circuit's decision removes the last big question mark. Appeals could have undone the settlement, thrown the industry back into limbo, or triggered a new wave of lawsuits. Instead, we have finality.
For buyers looking at homes in Anne Arundel County or anywhere in my footprint, that means the "new normal" is just normal now. You will sign a buyer-broker agreement. You will discuss how your agent gets paid—by the seller, by you, or some hybrid. And that conversation will happen up front, not as a surprise at closing.
For sellers in Howard, Montgomery, or Charles County, it means you'll still decide whether to offer compensation to a buyer's agent, but you'll communicate it differently—often through your listing agent or directly in negotiations, not splashed across the MLS like a coupon code.
I've closed deals in all four of my licensed states since the settlement took effect. Here's what I'm seeing on the ground:
Most sellers are still offering to pay the buyer's agent. It's a competitive choice. In markets like Cecil County or New Castle County, Delaware, where inventory has crept up and price cuts hit 42% of listings recently, sellers want every advantage. Covering the buyer's agent fee is one lever they can pull.
Buyers are more informed, not more burdened. Yes, the agreement feels like extra paperwork. But I've had fewer misunderstandings about what I do, how I get paid, and what happens if we don't find the right house. My former career in education taught me that clarity beats confusion every time.
Luxury and first-time buyers diverge. High-end buyers in Bethesda or Annapolis? They're used to negotiating everything and often have attorneys involved anyway. First-time buyers in Baltimore County or Lancaster, PA, need more hand-holding, and that signed agreement actually gives me the standing to advocate harder on their behalf.
If you're buying a home in Maryland, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, or Delaware:
If you're selling:
While the legal world obsessed over this settlement, the housing market kept doing its thing. And right now, mortgage rates and inventory are the real story.
Rates hit 6.67% two weeks ago and haven't budged much since. That's a full point higher than the lows we saw earlier this spring. Housing starts dropped 12% in July, which means fewer new homes coming to compete with resale inventory in places like York County or Anne Arundel.
Meanwhile, rents just hit $1,962 nationally, rising at the fastest pace in over a year, according to Zillow. In the Baltimore-Washington corridor, that rent pressure is real. I've had three buyer clients in the past month pull the trigger on purchases because renting felt like lighting money on fire, even with a 6.67% mortgage.
And here's the kicker: Redfin reports that U.S. home prices rose 3.4% year-over-year in July, the fastest annual growth in a year. Prices are holding or climbing in most of my markets—even as pending sales stumbled when rates spiked.
So yes, the commission settlement matters. But rates, inventory, and whether your kid's school district is any good matter more. (Speaking of which, if you haven't read my piece on why Cecil County schools make parents rethink their commute, it's worth your time.)
HousingWire published a piece today on the metrics that matter most for agents—referral rate, repeat clients, local reputation. Those are leading indicators of resilience when the market slows.
I think about that a lot. Twenty-plus years in education taught me that relationships outlast transactions. The settlement didn't change that. Court rulings don't change that.
What changes it is whether your realtor picks up the phone, explains the new rules without jargon, and helps you make a smart decision in Harford, Howard, Baltimore, Prince George's, York, Lancaster, New Castle, or any of the counties I serve.
The Eighth Circuit made it official today: the settlement stands. The industry has moved on. If you're buying or selling a home in Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, or Delaware, the question isn't whether the rules changed—it's whether you're working with someone who knows how to win under the new ones.
Need help navigating what comes next? Let's talk. I've been doing this through every twist the market's thrown at us, and I'm not going anywhere.
Katrina Kirton Sherrod, REALTOR® · Samson Properties · Licensed in MD, DC, PA & DE · 443-616-9770 · Katrina@kkstherealtor.com
“Buyers decide in the first eight seconds of seeing a home if they are interested. Get out of the car, walk in the door — sold.” — Barbara Corcoran