美国有线新闻 CNN 全美地产经纪商协会因抬高费用被起诉

 

The first story we're explaining this Thursday involves lawsuits¹ that could lead to changes in the U.S. real estate industry and it's significant because that industry is very important to the U.S. economy. Here's what's happening. Several lawsuits have been filed in the United States. The suits accuse the National Association of Realtors, America's largest trade association, of illegally conspiring² with other companies to keep fees higher than they should be when homes are bought and sold. The fees being debated are the commissions, the percentage of a home's sale price that realtors get. For decades they've been hovering³ around 6 percent.

So what does that 6 percent buy? Expertise⁴. A buyer's agent can help shoppers find the right house, negotiate its price, and help with all the complexities⁵ of the home buying process. A listing agent can help sellers get the home on the multiple listing service so others can see it and negotiate the best price for the seller. But something has changed in recent years. More Americans are going online to do some of the legwork in finding a home they like. Some argue that because that could mean less work for real estate agents, those agents should receive smaller commissions than they have in decades past, resulting in less money and fees for buyers and sellers and more left in their pockets.

Agents argue that without their guidance, Americans can make worse decisions when buying and selling and wind up paying in other ways down the road. It's not only the real estate industry that's been effected in the information age. Take the travel industry. With more people going to websites to book trips online, fewer are using travel agents. And the number of travel agencies in America has shrunk by almost 50 percent since the year 2000. We don't know yet if the new real estate lawsuits could lead to reduced fees in that industry and make it less desirable for realtors to work in. But that's why these cases are being so closely watched around the country.

1 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

2 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

3 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

4 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

5 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。