This is the news from NARdiGras — from RealEstateJournal.com:
A revised policy approved by the National Association of Realtors this week may make it harder for discount brokers to draw attention to homes they list for sale.
The policy, approved by directors of the trade group at a convention in New Orleans, involves information about homes that real-estate brokers get from their local multiple-listing services, databases that are typically operated by local Realtor associations. Among other things, the policy reaffirms that brokerage firms that put listings from the MLS on their own Web sites can exclude certain homes.
The revised policy states that brokers must use “objective criteria” if they screen out some listings. The criteria could include location, type of property, compensation offered for agents who find a buyer, or the level of service provided by the listing company. Thus, listings from brokers providing limited service for lower fees could be excluded from other brokers’ sites.
By contrast, the policy now states that multiple-listing services must make all types of listings available to the Web sites of participating brokers. It would be up to brokers — not the MLS — to decide which listings are used on individual brokers’ sites.
A broker quoted in the article makes a compelling case for this position: “We spend a lot of money advertising our Web site to the public, and we have a right to put what we want on our site.”
Indeed. And as a counter-marketing strategy, a brokerage could proudly announce that its web site sports the full MLS.
But: There’s more. The other night Cathy, Russell Shaw and I were talking about the contrary case: What if I want to exclude one of my listings from the MLS feed? That sounds counter-intuitive, but for certain very-high-priced homes, it makes sense. As the listing broker, I might want to advertise and cooperate, but I would not want to invite a deluge of traffic from unqualified buyers.
Moreover, I think this new policy has about as much chance of succeeding with the Feds as the last one. The individual liberty of real estate brokers seems not to matter much in Read more