Austin Realtors Restricted Listings, FTC Charges
Friday, July 14, 2006; Page D02
In another sign that federal regulators want the real estate establishment to open competition to discount brokers, the Federal Trade Commission yesterday announced its first restraint of trade action against a professional real estate association in 11 years.
The FTC charged that the 5,000-member Austin Board of Realtors violated antitrust laws by "effectively blocking" sellers who listed with discount brokers from marketing their homes on Web sites associated with the board, including Realtor.com, a national site.
Discount brokers offer fewer services than traditional firms and charge less. The Austin policy "denies sellers low-cost options and forces them to pay for services they may not want," said Jeffrey Schmidt, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition.
Regulators said the Texas group consented to drop the practice and settled the case without admitting wrongdoing. The Austin Board of Realtors said in a statement that it dropped its rule last year and that the FTC misrepresented its aim.
The action does not affect listings in the Washington area, according to Mary Jo Powell, spokeswoman for Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., the region's multiple listing service. "We accept all kinds of [listing] agreements," she said. "Our only condition is that you be a licensed practitioner."
It's not clear how many of the nation's more than 800 multiple listing services limit discounters, but Schmidt said the FTC is investigating several.
Yesterday's action was the latest in a series of moves by the FTC and the Justice Department to press real estate associations to allow discounters more access.
The Justice Department last year sued the National Association of Realtors over its Internet multiple listings policy; the parties are still in talks over the litigation. Federal regulators have also weighed in against recent state laws that protect the traditional real estate business model. Nine states, including Texas, require brokers to provide full services.
