Mauricio Umansky, luxury real estate broker and television personality, has reignited his legal battle against the National Association of Realtors (NAR), filing a renewed federal antitrust lawsuit early Tuesday morning. The case centers on allegations that the trade group suppressed competition by enforcing restrictive policies that undermined Umansky’s now-defunct venture, The Pocket Listing Service.
According to The New York Times, the original suit was initiated in 2020 but paused in 2024 before being formally released from the docket at midnight on Tuesday. Just 30 minutes later, Umansky refiled the case, marking a renewed push to challenge what he argues are monopolistic practices in the U.S. real estate industry.
The legal dispute stems from NAR’s “Clear Cooperation Policy,” a rule that mandates agents to publicly list properties on NAR-affiliated services within one business day of marketing them. As The New York Times reports, Umansky claims this policy effectively killed The Pocket Listing Service, which was designed to allow discreet and exclusive property listings, particularly valued in celebrity and high-net-worth markets.
Related: NAR Names New General Counsel Amid Antitrust Battle
In his earlier filing, Umansky asserted that the policy amounts to an anti-competitive constraint that stifles innovation and limits consumer choice. Per The New York Times, the platform’s spokesperson told Housing Wire that the service aimed to meet a growing demand for privacy and flexibility in real estate but was met with “coordinated resistance from an organization with a vested interest in preserving the status quo.”
Umansky, 55, who also appears on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, reiterated his commitment to challenging what he views as stifling industry norms during a public event in June. “There should be flavors for everybody, and everybody should have the choice as to what they want to pick,” he said. “Restricting what we can and cannot do stops creativity, and it stops innovation.”
In response, a spokesperson for NAR told The Independent that The Pocket Listing Service had disengaged after prior conversations with the organization. The group defended its policy, stating, “The Clear Cooperation Policy promotes transparency and competition in the real estate marketplace while still providing home sellers and their agents the option to list their property as an office exclusive.”
Source: The New York Times
