美国有线新闻 CNN 全美地产经纪商协会因抬高费用被起诉（在线收听）

The first story we're explaining this Thursday involves lawsuits 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 conspiring 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 hovering around 6 percent.

So what does that 6 percent buy? Expertise. A buyer's agent can help shoppers find the right house, negotiate its price, and help with all the complexities 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.