Top Hotline Trends

So far in 2025, there have been 3,246 calls placed to the WRA Legal Hotline. This is comparable to 2024, which saw 3,373 hotline calls by the end of June. The following is a snapshot of frequent hotline calls and whether there is a trend from 2024 to 2025.

*Data collected from January 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025.

In 2024, the number one topic on the hotline was antitrust/practice changes. Given the National Association of REALTORS^® (NAR) settlement agreement and the practice changes that went into effect in August 2024, this comes as no surprise. The hotline received a record number of calls before and after the NAR settlement practice changes took effect. 

In 2025, antitrust/practice changes remains a popular topic 
in hotline discussions as it’s the second most frequent topic so far this year. Based on the frequency of questions revolving around the practice changes, it’s clear that agents are continuing to grow and adjust to the requirements of the settlement agreement. Agents are calling the hotline to learn how to navigate issues in transactions that may come up now that the practice changes are effective. 

The second popular topic in 2024 is this year’s most popular topic so far: offer to purchase/inspection contingency. It’s no surprise that the hotline receives frequent questions about the inspection contingency and inspections. 

If there is any point in the transaction when things might take a turn, it would be after an inspection. Often, parties find themselves at odds when the inspection report comes back calling out certain items as defects. The buyer and seller at that point may disagree about whether any specific item is a defect. This is a common scenario and often prompts a call to the hotline to discuss the parties’ options and for insight about how to move the transaction forward. 

The third most popular topic is disclosure/real estate condition report (RECR). When it comes to disclosure obligations, licensees often find themselves in a tough situation when they observe a property condition that the seller hasn’t disclosed or if the seller asks the licensee whether the seller should disclose a certain condition. 

Other questions might arise when a licensee is not sure if the seller is even obligated to complete a RECR, such as when the seller is a trustee who has never lived on the property. 

Because property condition disclosure is an important part of a transaction, and sellers often have many questions about their disclosure obligations, it’s clear why disclosure/real estate condition report (RECR) made it into the top five hotline topics in both 2024 and 2025. 

While the fourth most popular topic in 2024 was commissions/offers of compensation, in 2025, that spot is held by offer to purchase/closing issues. In 2024, with offers of compensation no longer being permitted in the multiple listing service (MLS) due to the NAR settlement agreement, the hotline was flooded with calls about offers of compensation between the listing firm and the cooperating firm. 

It seems so far in 2025, there are fewer questions about offers of compensation and more questions about closing issues. Although no one ever wants this to happen, problems before closing are great reasons to call the hotline. Some common issues that occur before closing include title issues, property damage that occurs after acceptance, or a lender who will no longer fund the transaction, to name a few. 

In both 2024 and 2025, the hotline received many calls about REALTOR^® issues/MLS questions. This category made up 2.73% of calls in 2024 and makes up 2.77% of calls in 2025 so far. When there are disputes between REALTORS^®, questions about the REALTOR^® Code of Ethics, or questions about MLS rules and policies, licensees tend to call the hotline. Even when the hotline may not be able to answer a question specific to local association or MLS issues, the hotline can always give licensees the resources to find those answers.