Compass CEO Robert Reffkin lays out 10 questions his brokers are asking within the wake of NAR’s fee settlement in his newest argument in favor of client alternative and in opposition to CCP.
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I’ve all the time appreciated Gary Keller’s management in our trade. When many leaders are silent, he’s outspoken, saying issues like:
“NAR sold us out a long time ago. The thing that drives you absolutely crazy is a trade association is not supposed to be in your business.”
“As long as you have the right to your work product, you’re OK. The second that an MLS or NAR or anybody else decides that you can’t decide on your own if you want Realtor.com to have it, or Trulia to have it, or Zillow, then you’ve lost control of the industry. As long as it’s your decision, we’re good.”
I didn’t totally recognize the context of those quotes till the NAR settlement when our trade collectively paid $1 billion for “mandatory” NAR and MLS guidelines. After such a public failure, I had 1000’s of brokers ask the next questions, questions that don’t have good solutions:
Why did NAR/MLSs give our listings away to the portals? Why received’t the MLS let me write within the itemizing description that I’m the itemizing agent, which might create extra transparency for consumers when they’re looking out the portals?
Why received’t the MLS let brokers watermark their very own pictures, however then the MLS watermarks them?
To have entry to the MLS, why am I pressured to affix and pay three totally different associations (NAR, state and native associations)? Are the quite a few lawsuits in opposition to NAR’s “three-way agreement” justified?
How may “maximum exposure equals maximum price” be true or the MLS research claiming properties promote for 17.5 p.c extra on the MLS be true, when essentially the most refined and profit-driven sellers of actual property — builders and residential builders — bought over 300,000 properties off the MLS final 12 months?
Why do actual property builders and homebuilders not must comply with Clear Cooperation whereas particular person owners must comply with it?
What number of owners are conscious that Clear Cooperation forces them to present the MLS their itemizing after in the future of any type of public advertising and marketing?
Cooperation by the MLS was designed many years in the past for brokers to share their listings with brokers at different brokerages. Why are brokers now pressured to “cooperate” with portals — corporations with out brokers, listings, or shoppers — whose enterprise mannequin is to promote leads, not properties? Why are purchaser inquiries bought to the best bidder as an alternative of going to me, the agent who is aware of the house the perfect?
Why is the Division of Justice (DOJ) investigating NAR’s Clear Cooperation Coverage? Why did the choose within the lawsuit between DOJ v. NAR (April 2024) say that the “DOJ believes that the Clear Cooperation Policy restricts homeseller choices and precludes competition from new listing services?” I noticed that the DOJ requested NAR to alter Clear Cooperation to permit owners 60 days (not in the future) to publicly checklist off the MLS — why is NAR not doing what the DOJ requested?
My shopper requested to not have worth drop historical past and days on market on their itemizing. Why received’t my MLS enable me to do what my shopper has requested?
In response to questions like these, why does the MLS say “If you don’t like our rules, then you don’t have to be a member of the MLS,” once they know brokers can’t do their job with out MLS entry and that guidelines like Clear Cooperation have prevented competitors from any various itemizing techniques that would present me with a couple of single alternative, my native MLS.
There are too many questions like these that don’t have good solutions. NAR and MLSs ought to take away “mandatory” guidelines like Clear Cooperation that result in these issues. Forcing brokers and their shoppers to do issues they don’t wish to do will not be a profitable technique.
Robert Reffkin is the founder and CEO of Compass.
