Sorry if this was already posted, but I looked around and didn’t see it anywhere.
Excerpts:
[i]DOJ Objectives and concerns:
…
Listings are not owned by the listing broker, but are effectively a public asset.
Potentially, should full relief as sought by the government (not a sure thing) be granted, listings in the MLS would most likely become a “public asset” and access to them could not be restricted by NAR®, MLS® or anyone else. This would effectively take the agent and brokers hard won asset, the listing, and throw them out for third parties who would only collect commission as the sellers.[/i]
I love how they spin stuff. NAR is a monopoly and they are fighting to keep it that same way. In Texas, one of the reasons we have high property taxes is that agents and lawyers don’t pay taxes on services.
Well, that sounded much less like a news article and much more like a plug for the Point2 NLS® system.
Rich is correct. We’re likely not to see the outcome of this battle.
First, this apparently isn’t that big of a concern for NAR. They aren’t lobbying their supporters for money or anything. Heck, I haven’t even noticed a sidebar article on the subject in anything we get. That means that they either have confidence that they’ll win or they already have something else in mind (IMO).
Second, truth is, the listing broker DOES own the listing. If you’ve ever listed a house, look at your contract. If that is the basis of the case, it’s a losing stance.
Third, at least here, MLS already has given public access to all the listing on there site. No sales data, no withdrawns or expired data, just current listings, which is all that should be public access anyway. A half decent attorney (and I can assure you that NAR hires the best) should be able to successfully argue why public access to sales, withdrawns and expired would be a bad thing. This means that what the DOJ supposedly wants is already in place. Probably why NAR isn’t too worried, and why this looks more like an ad for the competition.
Fourth, RE agents were hired by sellers long before the MLS ever came into being. As sad as it sounds to most here, the majority of agents are still better qualified to sell a property than a one-shot homeowner, even without the aid of a digital showing house. In fact, most good agents use the MLS as only one source for leads to sell/buy a client’s property. Seriously, it wouldn’t be a major hit to most RE agents if it died.