DOJ launches Web site on real estate competition
By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Wednesday, October 10, 2007.Bookmarking Sites
The U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division today launched a new Web site focused on competition in the real estate industry that includes charts on real estate commission costs (see chart from DOJ site at left) and potential savings from low-cost real estate brokerage companies, as well as maps that indicate states that have adopted restrictive minimum-service and anti-rebate real estate measures.
The site is intended "to educate consumers and policymakers about the potential benefits that competition can bring to consumers of real estate brokerage services and the barriers that inhibit that competition," according to an announcement today.
The estimated median commission paid by home sellers in 2006 was $11,672, and that amount rose from 2001-06 while falling slightly in 2007, according to the DOJ site.
The Justice Department has a lot of information to draw from for the Web site -- the agency has been locked in an antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors trade group for the past two years, alleging that policies the group had adopted for the display and sharing of online property information were anticompetitive.
Another federal antitrust agency, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, last year launched a competition in real estate Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov/bc/realestate/index.htm.
See related Inman News article.
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Submitted by Fred Carver on March 14, 2008 - 5:47pm.
What they(reports above) seem to be over looking is the difference business models,and the services you may or maynot receive them.
I can only speak for myself, very few homes sell with low commission rates here as the Realtor doing this model has little if any money for marketing and advertising. I find this type of business being offered to the public as very missleading...First question you should ask a Realtor how much money and time will you spend on selling my home and show in detail your marketing plan!Plus a list of qualified clients to call to back up your claims...and yes 35 years experience does help and I've seen it all several times over. the old saying "You Get What You Pay For!