A recent article in the New York Times took a fresh look at real estate commissions after last year’s high-profile lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors.

NY Times: Home Sellers and Buyers Accuse Realtors of Blocking Lower Fees

That lawsuit was supposed to shake up the system, increase transparency, and finally bring commissions down. But according to the article – and what we’ve seen firsthand – commissions are still hovering right around where they’ve always been: 5 to 6 percent.

The Times article detailed how, despite the legal settlement and new rules, agents and brokerages are finding ways to keep the old system alive.

Instead of offering commissions through private MLS databases (which is now banned), agents are just shifting those conversations to phone calls, emails, and off-platform tools. Same result – just behind the scenes.

And when sellers try to break away from the traditional model or negotiate lower fees, they’re often met with resistance, pressure, or outright discouragement from the agent community.

This kind of behavior is exactly why we built YELLOW.

On YELLOW, there’s no forced commission structure, no pressure, and no outdated rules to follow. If you want to use an agent, go for it. If you’d rather handle it yourself or work with us directly, you can. Either way, you’re not locked into a bloated commission model.

The traditional system isn’t going to disappear overnight – but that doesn’t mean you have to wait for it to change. You have options now.  You have YELLOW.