Commercial Property
Pages: 1 [2]
Vitriolic Washington Post Attack Confirms Conspiracy of Disinformation
brokers expend more money and resources to get those homes sold. This is a natural supply and demand that the market has weathered many times, says Bill Powers, COO of Realty Executives. As Pearlstein and others have erroneously written, "The Internet has made it easier for buyers and sellers to go through the process without agents." Is he kidding? Where do reporters think listings come from - listing fairies? It is through technological innovations and agreements with Realtors and their associations that listings are available online. It is Realtors who publish their listings through such sources as MLS sites, Realtor.com, franchise organization sites, third-party referral sites, individual broker and agent websites, and more. Realtors, Mr. Pearlstein, are using the Internet - not the other way around. "And it has provided an opening for lower-cost brokers offering limited services," writes Pearlstein, but what he fails to note is that the "opening" is greased with listings that belong to other brokers. Just because certain brokers have created new business models predicated on the use of intellectual property that doesn"t belong to them, it does not mean they have a right to complain that not giving them listings to put on their websites is anticompetitive. That"s like calling Mom anticompetitive when she asks to be paid for gas that the teenager uses when he drives the car. If the use of an MLS repository is voluntary, it stands to reason that brokers could easily withdraw their listings, rather than watch them regulated to their disadvantage. The bottom line is that this is a conspiracy of disinformation, which is evidenced by the obviously closed ears of the DOJ and its media bullhorns. Without understanding how the MLS works as a business-to-business "stockroom" for listings to be presented to participating brokers" for their clients, the DOJ and its media bullhorns are stuck on the idea that the MLS is an advertising medium that is being unfairly controlled by traditional brokers. The only way out of this mess is for the NAR, its member associations, and MLSs to delineate a more clear definition and difference in the presentation of listings for advertising purposes, and reserve core MLS data for members only, which they can parcel out to consumer clients on a need-to-know basis, preferably when the consumer has indicated interest in a home or homes he or she is prequalified by a lender to buy. That would serve several purposes: It would encourage client relationships and discourage non-paying consumers and third-parties from using the real estate industry"s resources to buy and sell property without representation. It would restore the MLS as the cooperative it was intended to be among professionals. It would be fair to all brokers, which would eliminate DOJ interest and intervention. It would allow MLSs and brokers better control over many of the intellectual property and data management issues they have. It would force all brokers to compete on their own merits, not the access they have to other brokers" inventories. It would allow the marketplace, as it always has, to determine broker value in the commissions and the home prices it is willing to pay.Pages: 1 [2]