New UC Berkeley Study Shows Realtors Operate As A 'Cartel' To Inflate Fees By $50b Each Year Obstacles to Price Competition in the Residential Real Estate Brokerage Market by Mark Nadel | UC Berkeley Business Law Journal | https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1194892 News provided by Share this article Share this article AUSTIN, Texas, March 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New research, conducted by Mark Nadel and published in the UC Berkeley Business Law Journal, found traditional brokers have used anticompetitive practices to overcharge Americans by $50 billion annually. The paper describes how the cartel operated by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and their members works to protect the traditional 6% commission fee against price competition and firms operating outside the MLS structure who deploy superior consumer-facing technology and customer service to dramatically lower cost.