Oh no, Canada
By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Friday, March 23, 2007.Bookmarking Sites
The Competition Bureau (Canada's equivalent to the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division) is investigating the possible anticompetitive effects of multiple listing service amendments proposed by the Canadian Real Estate Association (Canada's equivalent to the National Association of Realtors).
The U.S. DOJ's Antitrust Division had conducted a two-year investigation of NAR's MLS policies related to the sharing and display of property listings before filing an antitrust lawsuit against NAR in 2005. That litigation is ongoing.
Canada's MLS requirements, which were scheduled to be considered at a March 24 meeting in Ottawa, are somewhat similar to Realtor-backed state measures in the United States that mandate specific services that real estate licensees must perform for clients, at least for some types of representation agreements. The U.S. DOJ and Federal Trade Commission have expressed opposition to some of those state measures but have limited authority when it comes to states' authority to pass laws.
It seems the two nations share more than a border in common. Which is why investigators for Canada's Competition Bureau are talking with real estate professionals in the United States.
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Submitted by Anonymous on March 25, 2007 - 5:35pm.
If we don't have the MLS, what do we have? This is an industry conversation that the public isn't engaging in here in Canada. I'm not sure they will.
The consumers I speak with each day value the information I can provide them via the MLS and I seldom have to justify the fee I charge. Having said that, I hope that we all continue to funnel our resources into protecting this asset. In the meantime, our industry knowledge and extensive experience continues to have substantial value in the market place. Our job is to constantly remind our clients of this.