The DOJ currently exhibits minimal appetite for antitrust enforcement in real estate, permitting mergers to proceed with limited investigations and restricted information exchanges. Private civil antitrust litigation continues, including a recent Florida suit alleging NAR, local associations and MLSs steer buyers to using buyer's agents. Historical patterns show DOJ scrutiny often increases after upticks in consumer lawsuits or state attorneys general actions, though current enforcement may rely on civil courts to resolve disputes. Recent DOJ investigations into NAR occurred during the first Trump administration. Some attribute the enforcement decline to lobbying by MAGA-in-name-only.
By all indications there is very little appetite for antitrust enforcement from the DOJ, Francis X. Riley, a partner at Saul Ewing LLP., said. They just aren't doing anything. They are letting these mergers go through with limited investigations or limited exchange of information, and this sheds light on the fact that the DOJ is not going to be active in antitrust enforcement actions.
While the DOJ, which has historically been very active when it comes to NAR, appears to be taking a step back from real estate, that doesn't mean the civil lawsuits have stopped. Just last week Jorge Zea, a real estate broker in Florida, filed an antitrust suit accusing NAR, local associations and MLSs of steering buyers to using buyer's agents.
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