The real-estate industry has been reshaped since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement and new ruling changed over a year ago.  As a result, the landscape of real estate buyer, seller and agent relationships have shifted dramatically.  The intent of the lawsuit was meant to put you, the home buyer (or home seller) in a unique position to demand more freedom. The interesting part is the result doesn't appear to be playing out that way on a large basis -- at least initially.   Here is a quick recap as to the impact the class action lawsuit verdict intended for home buyers and sellers.

New Home Touring Requirements: What you need to know

As part of the NAR settlement, every potential homebuyer must agree to a Written Agreement with their agent to tour a home. Here’s what this written agreement must include:

📅 Length of Agreement: The agreement must specify a clear, limited timeframe, with no open-ended commitments.
💸 Compensation: This can vary—some agents might charge a flat fee, a percentage of total sales price, an hourly rate or no fee.
✅ Services Provided: The agreement should outline what services the agent will and won’t provide, ensuring you know what to expect.

The Reality: Agents, buyers, sellers & agreements are under pressure

Over the past year -- buyers, sellers and agents have been navigating a “new normal” in which agent compensation and agreements are supposed to be presented and negotiated before any service is provided. The market is showing that these commitments and conversations do not appear to be serving their initial purpose (or even always happening).    

There is an emerging uncertainty and underlying shift in expectations of when and how home buyers and sellers are receiving the message behind this new requirement as well as to when and how they are committing to an agent. Recent news and regulatory changes highlight some big problems arising with the current trend which appears to be leading to more questions than answers:

Prospective home buyers are often asked to sign a committment just to go on a tour.
The National Association of Realtors’ issued a consumer guide to provide consumers with guidance to navigate the lawsuit and what it means to prospective home buyers and home sellers.  It notes that many buyer-agents will ask for a “written buyer agreement” before touring a home with you:

👉 “You will be asked to enter into a written buyer agreement … before touring a home with (a buyers agent).”
🤔 Imagine signing a commitment to just look around — would you do that in any other major purchase?

The terms of the agreement aren’t necessarily imposing buyer-friendly commitments, and many buyers are breaking or bypassing them.
HousingWire and Redfin are reporting that many buyers' agents face clients who signed agreements with them and then “went off-book”—closing directly with builders or listing agents, raising the question: Why require the agreement at all? This is leading real estate brokers and attorneys to consider the following dilemma:

👉 “As real estate agents face breached buyer-agency agreements, they debate whether to pursue legal action against clients who bypass them.” 
🤔 If many buyers break or ignore the agreements, what value does that early commitment truly offer them? Or you?

Regulatory change and new business models are forcing the industry to reconsider everything.
Because agents are still sharing commission information off the MLS, NAR has "relaxed" what they call Clear Cooperation Policy — a rule that previously required listings to be shared by brokers publicly within one business day of being marketed has been lifted. 

👉 Now, under the new guidelines, listings can be temporarily withheld from public view, creating a kind of "soft launch" called a delayed marketing option.  
🤔 Does allowing listings to be temporarily withheld from public view increase or decrease your trust as a consumer?

Meanwhile, the most visited real estate website to find homes for sale -- Zillow -- is facing a new proposed class action accusing the company of misleading prospective buyers to steer them to its network of affiliated agents.  Additionally a recent study by the Federal Reserve shows that despite the new era of written buyer-representation agreements, commission rates haven’t meaningfully declined. 

👉 Confusion abounds... the home buying and selling process is changing rapidly with new technology while simultaneously taking a step backwards in transparency.
🤔 Which begs the question: Why should you have to commit so early?

Bottom Line: You don't have to make a commitment early in the process

The landscape has changed: the long-standing model of “agent commitment upfront” is increasingly questioned by new rules, new buyer behavior and new research.  You should be in control of when and how you commit. Because buying a home is big enough — you shouldn’t feel locked in before you’re ready.  Your dream for home ownership is built around your freedom and flexibility:

👉 “Why do you need to sign before you’ve even seen a house? Many buyers break the tours-first agreement — so why are you asked to sign it in the first place?”
🏠 Tour homes first — no agent-exclusive commitment is required up front.

When you’re touring homes, you should be able to wander through rooms, let ideas grow wild, imagine your future self nestled into a home—and walk away if you like. No contracts looming behind you. No uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. Just the pure intrigue of: What if this could be mine?  This means you can:

⛔ Explore without pressure.
🔎 Compare homes, neighborhoods, and agents on your terms.
✅ Make your agent-choice after you’ve done your homework.
⚖️ Avoid being locked into lengthy or one-sided agreements before you’re ready.
💡 Decide later if, when, and with whom you’ll work as your buyer-agent. You still have expert representation available when you’re ready — but you’re not forced into it just to see houses.

Act Now: Start your no-commitment, on-demand home journey

While some companies are doubling down on outdated, restrictive practices, others are stepping forward with fresh, consumer-first innovation. That’s where HomeTraq comes in.  We see the confusion in today’s market — and we’re not running from it. We’re building solutions that make sense for you.

👀 See More Homes - We show you as many homes as possible from MLSs across the country, including listings that might otherwise be tucked away from public view. No exclusivity games. 
🚪 Tour Without a Commitment - With HomeTraq, there’s no need to sign a long-term commitment to an agent just to tour. You schedule home showings on your time, with no pressure and no fine print.
🧭  Stay in Control - You choose when to work with an agent — and who that is. No one forces your hand. You set the pace, and we empower the process.
📱 Use Simple, Smart Technology - Our mobile-friendly platform makes home touring easy, fast, and flexible. It’s real estate without the runaround.