How the 2024 NAR Rules Impact Home Buying and Selling
In March 2024, the National Association of Realtors (the “NAR “) agreed to pay $418 million to settle antitrust lawsuits alleging it conspired to inflate agents’ commissions, which, in turn, had been artificially driving up the cost of homes. On November 26, 2024, a judge granted final court approval of the NAR settlement, which according to the NAR website, secured “a release of liability for over 1.4 million NAR members, all state/territorial and local REALTOR® associations, REALTOR® multiple listing services (MLSs), NAR’s affiliate organizations and all brokerages with an NAR member as principal that had a residential transaction volume in 2022 of $2 billion or below. The settlement also releases MLSs and brokerages that chose to opt-in to the agreement.” See how the new 2024 NAR rules impact homebuyers and home sales moving forward.
PA Attorney General Launches New Portal for BPINA Violations
A recent update to Pennsylvania’s Breach of Personal Information Notification Act (BPINA) included the announcement of a new portal created and hosted by the PA Attorney General’s Office, designed to make reporting breaches easier and more efficient for covered entities. Starting September 26, those required to report a data breach can access the portal, which will prompt the user through a few reporting questions such as information regarding the breach details, personal information, and an upload of any pertinent documents related to the breach for the PA Attorney General’s Office to review.