Washington, D.C. — A new report from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), in collaboration with the National Urban League (NUL), Escalating Housing Costs, Hidden Listings: Survey of Housing Counselors Reveals How First-Time Homebuyers are Faring After Landmark NAR Realtor Settlement examines the aftermath of the 2024 National Association of Realtors (NAR) $418 million settlement and highlights the top nine challenges for first-time homebuyers. Consumers initially expressed hope that the NAR settlement would address long-standing frustrations over cost and transparency when buying and selling a home, but the report finds that Realtor commissions have not significantly fallen, first-time homebuyers continue to face broader affordability challenges, and “pocket listings,” an anti-competitive real estate practice in which homes are privately marketed to a select group of agents and buyers instead of being publicly listed, are an emerging threat to fair access and transparency in the housing market.
“The findings of this report confirm what we’ve known at the Urban League for some time: the barriers to Black homeownership are complex and growing,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “The rise of pocket listings, combined with cuts to housing counseling services, threatens to usher in a new form of redlining. Homeownership remains the primary driver of wealth in this country. We cannot reach equity without protecting the pathways that allow every family, in every community, to own a home.”
To better understand how the NAR settlement has initially impacted first-time homebuyers, CFA and NUL surveyed 223 housing counselors across 37 states in July and August 2025 and conducted 9 in-depth interviews. Housing counselors are an excellent source for understanding the changing realities of the housing market. Though the Administration has sought to sharply reduce funding for housing counselors, they still provide individual guidance to dozens of first-time homebuyers and educate hundreds of consumers in homebuyer classes each year.
“More than a year after the NAR settlement, the predicted changes have not materialized: changed Realtor commission rules have neither lowered costs for consumers, nor blocked first-time homebuyers from entering the market,” said Sharon Cornelissen, Director of Housing at the Consumer Federation of America. “But new worrisome trends are emerging, including the rise of anti-competitive “pocket listings” and the Administration’s threat to cut all funding for housing counselors, which could reduce fair access to homeownership.”
The report calls for targeted policy action to improve transparency in Realtor fees and housing listings, and to expand support for homebuyers. It recommends that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) collect and make publicly available data on brokerage fees through sources such as the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) database or via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It also urges State Attorneys General and Fair Housing Centers to closely monitor the potentially discriminatory impacts of “pocket listings” by brokerages. Finally, the report calls on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to continue fully funding and training housing counselors nationwide and to recognize housing counselors as unique, unbiased advisors who play a critical role in helping first-time homebuyers navigate an increasingly complex housing market.