FTC may work with NAR on MLS issues

WASHINGTON -- Oct. 13, 2006 -- The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) continues to reach out to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an attempt to address FTC concerns regarding the treatment of exclusive agency listings, and the FTC may take NAR up on the offer.

"NAR has reached out to the FTC on two separate occasions in an attempt to get the agency to work with us to craft an industry-wide solution to FTC concerns over the MLS’ treatment of exclusive agency listings," says Laurie Janik, NAR general counsel. "We understand that the FTC is now looking at the possibility of taking NAR up on its offer to address this issue."

There are over 900 independently operated MLSs in the United States. The FTC announced that it has concluded investigations against seven of these MLSs claiming their practices were anticompetitive.

"MLSs are a powerful force for competition," says Janik. "They make it easy for sellers to reach buyers and for buyers to find the right property." Janik has been attempting to work with the FTC for a number of months on the inquiries into activities the FTC views as being in violation of antitrust laws.

The FTC called a press conference to announce results of its seven MLS investigations. The FTC actions resulted in the signing of consent orders by five MLSs to discontinue certain practices that the FTC claims may have resulted in lessening competition. The other two actions will be litigated.

"Realtors welcome competition and work every day in a competitive environment. Although we do not agree with today’s FTC actions, we are happy to learn that the FTC, which does not customarily reach out to industry, is looking to work with NAR on this issue," says Thomas M. Stevens, NAR president.

"Working with the industry to develop constructive solutions is not something the FTC is accustomed to doing and it is rewarding to see that our efforts to develop a cooperative relationship may be paying off," says Stevens. "The result will be, we hope, the elimination of duplicative actions such as the consent orders."

Multiple Listing Services or MLSs are cooperatives formed by real estate brokers in which they offer each other the opportunity to sell their listings. The industry has made a multimillion-dollar investment to create the infrastructure of the MLS systems. Most MLSs also display their members’ listings on Internet advertising sites, such as Realtor.com, which displays 3.9 million homes for sale and has 7 million unique visitors each month.

© 2006 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

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