The FTC Declares War On 7 Different Multiple Listing Services
October 12th, 2006 • Related • Filed Under
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Well, not war, but they are aggressively going after multiple listing services that are “illegally restraining competition by limiting consumers’ ability to obtain low-cost real estate brokerage services”.
Two MLS’s are facing Litigation:
- 1) Realcomp II, Ltd., a corporation owned by several realtor boards and associations, which provides services to more than 2,100 real estate brokerage offices in southeastern Michigan, and has more than 14,800 members; and
- 2) MIRealSource, Inc., which is owned by the real estate professionals it serves, and provides services to more than 840 real estate brokerage offices in southeastern Michigan and has more than 7,000 members.
The Five MLS’s that are faced complaints and have agreed to consent orders are:
- ) Information and Real Estate Services, LLC, based in Loveland, Colorado, which operates a regional MLS for northern Colorado, that is used by more than 5,000 real estate professionals;
- 2) Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc., which is based in Concord, New Hampshire, and operates an MLS for the state that is used by several thousand real estate professionals;
- 3) Williamsburg Area Association of Realtors, Inc., which is based in Williamsburg, Virginia, and operates an MLS for that area and surrounding counties that is used by approximately 650 real estate brokers;
- 4) Realtors Association of Northeast Wisconsin, Inc., which is based in Appleton, Wisconsin, and operates an MLS for areas including Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and surrounding counties, and is used by more than 1,500 real estate brokers; and
- 5) Monmouth County Association of Realtors, Inc., which is based in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, and operates an MLS for Monmouth and Ocean counties and the surrounding areas of the state that is used by several thousand real estate professionals. via the FTC
Get the feeling that the discount brokers are salivating right now as the MLS monopoly is facing the power of the Federal government? And what tools are going to be created to fill this vacuum and pry the door open further.
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Pingback by FTC releases Pamphlet To Educate Homebuyers » The Real Estate Bloggers on 17 October 2006:
[…] But the majority of the homebuyers do not know this, and after last weeks attack by the FTC at 7 regional MLS’s over stopping low cost brokers from having their listings published, the FTC is now trying to educate the population on how to avoid the 6 percent commission. […]
Pingback by Realtor’s MLS Policy Changed To Include All » The Real Estate Bloggers on 18 November 2006:
[…] The federal government has been pressuring the different MLS organizations across the country to stop deliberately denying access to their data by some real estate companies. These actions have lead to multiple lawsuits by the Federal Trade Commission recently. […]
Comment by Stacie Whitfield on 22 January 2007:
A few years ago, we joined the RMLS in Washington state and when entering a listing you needed to state if the listing was Ex. Agency or Ex. Right to sell. Since I own a flat listing fee company and list properties for a flat fee in the MLS, all of our listings are Ex. Agency. I immediately noticed that my listings weren’t being swept to their public site. I called them and they said that this was their rule and that I would have to go to the board to try and change it, but good luck! So I called an attorney back east with NAR. I explained my situation and he said they can restrict those listings if they want. I replied “thats discrimination!” He wasn’t very polite, and said “No its not”. I got nowhere with him and I just wish I would have taken his name, hung up the phone and called the FTC. We also belong to the Willamette Valley MLS in Oregon and the do not allow Ex. Agency listings at ALL! I just called them and they are making the transition to including those….due to the heat in the kitchen.