Real estate “Cartel” sets prices, restricts services, and restricts access to MLS. I’m in favor of watchdog groups, consumer groups, and anyone who provides accurate information to the consumer. This release is an inaccurate depiction of the real estate industry obviously prepared by someone with an agenda.
This release makes it sound as if there is no competition in the real estate industry. There are well over 1 million REALTORS in the country. Approximately 40% of them are independent which means not the “traditional broker” as outlined. In Missouri the Missouri Real Estate Commission regulates that commissions are “negotiable”. In addition Federal Anti-Trust laws prohibit anyone from one firm mentioning commission rates to anyone at another firm, even if they are members of the same franchise. That would be considered “price fixing”. In my state I have about 30,000 competitors and couldn’t get them to agree on the color of the sky if I paid them.
Rather I would submit that the commission rate that is charged by REALTORS is a reflection of the cost of doing business. REALTOR Associates are not employees of these big brokers you would be led to believe. REALTORS for the most part are Independent Contractors or Independent business owners. They have overhead, advertising expenses, many have payroll, rent, automobile expense, and so forth. While the cost of consumer goods seems to rise every year, the commission rates sited in this article have not increased during the 18 years that I have been in the industry.
There are also strict guidelines and accountability regarding all MLS systems. The intent here is not to hide anything; the MLS search is available on nearly every website on the internet. The massive databases that provide this accurate data to the consumer for free, costs millions if not billions annually to maintain, paid for and provided by your local REALTOR.
Consumer groups that want open MLS are very short sighted. You just got into town and are ready to look at homes. You have 2 company paid trips to find the home you and your family will be living in for the next several years. You have criteria: Price, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, school district, 2 story, ranch, etc. Your REALTOR searches and finds the best properties in the MLS for you to view. Then you spend your weekend viewing 2 bedroom homes with a finished bedroom in the lower level. This is just one reason why there MUST be controls and standards in the MLS.
Anyone may start a listing site. There are many. They are generally incomplete and or inaccurate because they have no standards or accountability. That is why the information must be controlled. It’s a pro-consumer policy and it has been developed over decades to provide accurate information and disclosures.
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