U.S. Justice Department and the NAR
The effect the internet will have on real estate has hit the courts. Here is the antitrust filing for the U.S. vs National Association of Realtors.
U.S. Dept of Justice Website. Here are the full House Commitee on Financial Services transcripts. “An increasing number of observers – from the government, to consumer groups, to academics – are asking an important question about residential real estate brokerage that, frankly, Congress has been slow to consider. Namely, why is it – in an industry with more than 1.3 million competitors, with home prices that vary widely – that brokers from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine so uniformly charge a six percent commission? Moreover, why has that six percent fee remained the same as home priceshave soared, and with new technologies that make brokerage more efficient? Wouldn’t real competition produce varying services and varying prices?”