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03/07/2006
Why Is the Real Estate Industry Under Attack? In May 2005, the real estate industry was bashed in the media for its allegedly rampant "anti-competitive" business practices. News reports cited an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice investigation into NAR's Virtual Office Web site (VOW) policy, a General Accountability Office (GAO) review of industry business practices ordered by U.S. Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a longtime friend of the banking industry, and efforts by some state associations of REALTORS® to establish minimum standards of service that real estate practitioners must provide consumers, as signs that REALTORS® must be conducting business in a way that somehow hurts competition and, therefore, consumers. Many news outlets gleefully reported that the industry that had managed to dodge disintermediation by the Internet because of its "protectionist ways" was finally about to get its comeuppance and be forced to turn over the keys to its supposed kingdom -- MLS and/or listing data -- to the "discount brokers" beating at the gates (never mind that NAR's membership has long included brokerages of all iterations, including those that call themselves "discount" service providers.) Much of the reporting on the DOJ investigation, the GAO review, and the minimum standards issue has been far from accurate and unbiased and, so, has missed the true nature of the issues in question -- some of which are complex. NAR is working to set right this seemingly orchestrated campaign of misinformation about how the real estate industry operates. First and foremost, the national association wants to make sure that its members, the media and other interested parties have a place to go to learn about how members actually conduct business in a marketplace that includes more than 1 million REALTORS®. You can call today's real estate market hot, booming or robust, for sure, but "anti-competitive" it ain't. Bookmark this page at REALTOR.org today as your first stop for the latest information from objective sources who "get" the real business issues that are at the heart of the anti-competitiveness debate in the media and in Washington, D.C. -- as well as news analysis by NAR's magazine and Web site editors of developments in the DOJ investigation, the GAO review and the minimum standards debate going on at the state levels. News and Opinion from Realty Times Realty Reality: NAR's Action On Standards Made Sense (May 25, 2005)
News and Opinion from the Internet Crusade Saul Klein, Internet Crusade on NAR's VOW Policy (May 24, 2005) NAR News Releases NAR Takes Initiative to Resolve VOW Policy Dispute (May 14, 2005) NAR, DOJ to Negotiate Enhanced IDX Policy (May 12, 2005) McDermott: REALTORS® Livelihood Under Attack (May 11, 2005)
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