Think-tank deliberates over the future MLS structure
From a consumer stand point both home sellers and home buyers would stand to be the benneficiaries of increased marketing exposure through a nationally consolidated MLS. The only problem is brokers are requesting protection of information and content which not only hurts a seller wanting public exposure but limits the exposure brokers would get from there own listings. But it seems if there is one constant in real estate it is agents love "to shoot themselves in the foot." In the last year the Department of Justice has questioned and filed suit against the National Association of Realtors regarding property data and the control of such information. NAR has only brought more attention to its "anticompetive" policies recently by implementing minimum service requirements of a broker listing a home. The suits filed by the Department of Justice have raised consumer awareness of alternative listing models bringing attention to the current MLS structure, commission structure, and restrictive display of information. Flat fee MLS companies and real estate discounters are gaining market share all the while thanking the broker associations that got the attention of the DOJ. A nationally consolidated MLS could benefit the masses if created as a consumer-friendly database that is broker controlled.
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February 19, 2006 – 10:20 pm
National MLS Coverage Expanded
Flat fee mls services are now available in additional states through nationwide discount brokerage services website www.MLSLion.com. After a recent article in Inman News, more flat fee brokers around the country registered for membership with this fast growing portal for home sellers seeking to obtain the exposure of the Realtor MLS for their home sales without giving up thousands of dollars in real estate commissions. MLSLion now offers flat fee listing to consumers in approximately 40 states including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisianna, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia Washington, Wisconsin.
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December 5, 2005 – 6:33 pm
Connecticutt Realtors look to merge MLS system
There are currently 10 MLS systems in Connecticutt. That’s too many according to Jaerry Alaimo, broker owner of Century 21 Alaimo & Corrado in Enfield, CT. and president of the board of directors for the Connecticutt statewide MLS initiative.
Each of the current Multiple Listing Services serves the various geographic areas of Connecticutt with some overlapping boundaries. And, of course, each MLS employs staff and spends money on offices, equipment and utilities. There are implicit cost efficiencies that could be realized from a merger into one statewide MLS.
From the agent’s point of view, the plethora of MLSs pose a different problem. Each MLS has its own set of rules, fees, data standards, etc. that make life more complicated and expensive for a Realtor. A consolidation into one MLS would alleviate much of the problem.
To the consumer the benefits of large, state-wide or regional MLS are even more significant. Having a property advertised to Realtors and all of their buyers on an MLS throughout the state gives there homes added exposure and an accompanying possibly increased demand for their properties which could well provide a higher selling price.
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November 29, 2005 – 10:09 am
Longtime Realtor critic proposes a nationwide Multiple Listing Service
David Barry, a San Francisco lawyer who has engaged in numerous lawsuits against Realtor organizations over the past 25 years released a report Monday to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), in its study of Competition in Real Estate, proposing a National MLS system to replace the many local MLS systems run by Realtor organizations around the country. The 82 page report calls for, among other things, a national Multiple Listing Service to be created through federal legislation.
Barry’s contention is that the Realtor controlled local and regional MLSs now in place create an inherently unfair and biased marketplace for real estate property listings. According to Barry, "…the MLSs aren’t just near-monopolies, they are 100% monopolies. The MLS system is so complete, accurate, so fast, rich in detail, powerful, and cheap, it’s blown away every other real estate information source. In the markets we’ve studied, the Realtor associations can’t find a single active realty agent or appraiser who doesn’t use the MLS."
By requiring Realtor association membership for MLS access, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has grown to become the largest trade organization in the world. Barry’s studies show that over a half a billion dollars have been forced from realty agents and appraisers by the MLS tie-in in the past 6 years.
Barry’s conclusion: "Organized real estate is beset with illegality. Despite spending over a trillion dollars a year on homes, consumers don’t get what they deserve. Agents are victimized by their trade association, the National Association of Realtors…DOJ should sue NAR for (named within report) violations and dissolve NAR. Half a century of price fixing and monopolization is enough."
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