Historic MLS Settlement

Historic MLS Settlement May 28, 2008

Many of you probably heard that the Department of Justice and National Association of Realtors. have just settled their long standing dispute regarding the competitiveness of Multiple Listing Service practices.

So, what have we gained after two years of government investigation and two and a half years of litigation? DOJ says that NAR will now "repeal its anticompetitive policies," and will promise not to be anticompetitive in the future. That's it, no more anti-competitiveness? I just don't see how this legal exercise will have much of an impact on our industry.

The government is not requiring the payment of any fines, nor the admission of any wrong-doing. The NAR IDX policy remains unchanged, their revised VOW policy will become permanent and MLS data will continue to be reserved for the use of professional real estate brokerages. No big news here.

The most significant result? The elimination of "opt-out" practices that allowed brokers to prevent their listings from being shown on competitors' websites. However, many brokers have long since realized that the widespread distribution of their listings is the most beneficial practice. At the same time, this settlement also says that a seller still has the right to control under what circumstances their listing may be shown on the Internet.

I think the real estate industry will move forward very much like it has in the past, regardless of this settlement. The marketplace will always decide what system works best and which companies will survive.

Sidney Manzo

RE/MAX Tri City

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