I was doing a little more reading about it and it looks like the DOJ still has a number of lawsuits against various MLSs to decouple agent commissions...
DOJ REJECTS COURT SETTLEMENT AND AFFIRMS IMPORTANCE OF DECOUPLING AGENT COMMISSIONS
DOJ REJECTS COURT SETTLEMENT AND AFFIRMS IMPORTANCE OF DECOUPLING AGENT COMMISSIONS
Quote:
DOJ does not envision a compensation system in which buyers must come up with additional cash to pay their agents. The agency agrees that sellers could provide dollar concessions to be used for this compensation and other buyer expenses. However, DOJ stressed that buyers must have the ability to negotiate these commissions then decide what, if any, concessions to seek from sellers. Similarly, sellers would have the ability to decide whether to offer any concessions and, if so, their amount.
Some of the details of this decoupled system need to be worked out. "It is critically important that buyers negotiate buyer agent commissions before their agents search for properties," said CFA's Brobeck. "Otherwise, buyer agents could steer buyers to properties with the highest dollar concessions and potential agent compensation," he added.
It is also important that buyer agents be prohibited from being compensated by both buyer and seller, a practice the NAR Code of Ethics disapproves of. Otherwise, buyer and listing agents could easily collude to maintain existing commission levels.
Quote:
"To ensure significant price competition, both buyers and sellers would need to discuss and try to negotiate compensation of their agents," Brobeck said. "Even then, rates would be unlikely to fall immediately, yet over time could decline to an average of 3-4 percent level, saving consumers an estimated $20-$30 billion annually, with much greater variation in types of compensation and rates charged by different agents. No longer would inexperienced agents be able to charge the same rates as highly competent agents with years of experience," he added.