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Last week, top brokers, real estate CEOs, analysts and more gathered for Inman Connect New York — the first major industry gathering of 2025. And unsurprisingly, given the tumult of 2024, commissions and antitrust litigation were among the most-discussed topics.
The conversations centered on what happens now that the National Association of Realtors and major companies have settled lawsuits over agent pay and with settlement-prompted rules now in effect for several months. Thousands of people attended the event, and there were dozens of panel discussions, debates and presentations, so opinions on the issues were, of course, diverse.
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But the high-level takeaway is that there was less speculation about what specifically might come next and more advice on how to thrive in a landscape that comes more and more into focus. Significantly, many experts who appeared on the Inman Connect stage were relatively upbeat. That doesn’t mean they forecasted easy times for everyone, but unlike a year ago, when uncertainty reigned, many attendees suggested there are opportunities ahead for those able to seize them.
Opportunity awaits
To understand how notable it was that anyone at all was optimistic this year, it’s worth recalling that Inman Connect New York 2024 took place just months after NAR and major franchisors lost a jury trial over antitrust allegations — but before NAR had settled or outlined new industry rules. As a result, there was significant speculation last year about what might happen or how the near-term future might play out.
With the most basic antitrust questions now answered, however, many panelists focused on the future — and offered relatively hopeful assessments.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for most of you,” Russ Cofano, CEO of Collabra Technology, said while onstage. He added moments later that the “bottom line is you’re no longer required to cap your compensation” at whatever the listing agent offers.
From left to right, moderator Jim Dalrymple II, Kendall Bonner, Russ Cofano and Christine Jacobson at Inman Connect New York. Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Christine Jacobson, senior vice president of B2B marketing at Realtor.com, joined Cofano on stage and made a similar point, saying that the new real estate landscape creates opportunities to be more transparent.
“That’s something consumers have always craved, and this limelight on the relationship between the agent and consumer has pushed the industry forward to do a better job of being transparent and being clear and making sure that people understand, ‘This is the value of service I provide for the fee that I charge,’” Jacobson said.
There was also some discussion about the possibility of commissions actually going up.
Douglas Elliman CEO Michael Liebowitz, for example, described his company going forward as a “credible disrupter” that is working to help agents increase their gross commission income.
The idea that commissions could actually rise echoes observations a number of brokers, such as Mauricio Umansky, have made in recent months. The argument isn’t that all commissions will rise in the post-settlement world, but rather, that the best agents — and specifically those who excel at negotiating — will be able to command higher pay for offering higher quality service. Though never the main focus of any particular session at this month’s Connect, the idea was floated repeatedly in passing — suggesting that it isn’t just some fringe theory.
Finally, another source of optimism that came up at the event had to do with the level of professionalization. Ryan Serhant, for instance, argued that the industry is now in a better position and that “the bad actors will get pushed out or put in jail.”
Ryan Serhant at Inman Connect New York. Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Meanwhile, Kendall Bonner described an ongoing increase in professionalism as “a good thing,” adding that agents now have to talk about what they’re charging and why.
“It’s a new skillset agents have to tap into as a superpower,” she said.
Though some of these topics are only loosely connected, the broad point was straightforward: After a highly disruptive year, there may be opportunities for skilled agents on the horizon. Put another way, there wasn’t a lot of doomsaying at this month’s Connect, at least when it came to commissions and antitrust litigation.
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NAR is working on a turnaround
Among the panelists who appeared at Connect, perhaps none was as notable as NAR CEO Nykia Wright. She took the reins as interim CEO of NAR in 2023 and was made the organization’s permanent chief last August. Her appearance last week was the first time she attended an Inman Connect, and is among her first highly public appearances generally as NAR’s leader.
Though Wright didn’t focus specifically on agent commissions, much of her onstage interview with Inman founder Brad Inman focused on her efforts to bring about a “turnaround” after a tumultuous period for NAR. Among other things, she promised more transparency and said that NAR wants “to get to a resolution very quickly” regarding Clear Cooperation — a polarizing rule that was also a major point of debate at this year’s event.
Nykia Wright, left, greets Brad Inman onstage at Inman Connect New York. Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Asked about how NAR is going to pay its antitrust settlement, Wright replied that the organization “is being “more judicious, cautious, as it relates to how we will be spending money going forward.” And she said that while she, as CEO, doesn’t set Realtor dues levels, the association’s leaders are “thinking about that every single day.”
Though Wright did not provide specifics on all of NAR’s inner workings, her appearance generally — and the overall positive reception she got from people in the room — suggests NAR is working to connect with industry members and prove it has reached a turning point.
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Not out of the woods yet
Though many panelists at the event framed last year’s industry changes as opportunities for the best agents, that doesn’t mean challenges don’t lie ahead. During a presentation about the state of the industry, Joe Rath — senior director of brokerage operations and head of industry relations at Redfin — said his company’s recent polling indicated that 52 percent of agents expect commissions to decline either “modestly” or “significantly” in the next 12 months. Another 42 percent of agents believe declining commissions will be a challenge over the next five years.
Fifty-four percent of respondents to Redfin’s polling also reported seeing “slightly more” or “far more” commission negotiation as a result of NAR’s landmark antitrust settlement. Rath interpreted the findings during his presentation as evidence that “we’re going to see more training on negotiation.”
Either way, Rath’s presentation suggests that in the trenches of the industry, there is still anxiety about what will happen to commissions over the coming months and years.
Joe Rath onstage at Inman Connect New York. Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Aside from commission rates themselves, some experts who appeared at Connect also expressed fatigue with ongoing antitrust litigation.
“I’m tired of the regulating and the lawmaking and the getting sued into corners here,” Real Estate Companies of the World Chief Legal Officer Jessica Edgerton said while on stage. “Let’s stop that.”
Ed Zorn, general counsel for CRMLS, made a similar comment, adding that “the way we’re going to stop the lawsuits is doing the right thing.”
So what is the right thing? What puts the tumult of 2024 firmly in the rearview mirror?
Zorn argued that the key is making “it unethical to share commissions,” which “will work and we’re done.”
“There’s no need to share a commission,” Zorn said. “There’s no need to make an offer of compensation from a listing broker to a buyer’s broker. Just let it go.”