Posted by Jeremy Snook:
File this under “Yet Another Old Industry Fears the Internet”. The National Association of Realtors settled its anti-trust lawsuit with the Justice Department, allowing online-only real estate brokers full access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
According to seattlepi.com, the ruling “assures that the real estate information is shared equally amongst all brokers.” This full access comes at a price, however. Participating websites must comply with removing any comments from their sites that a home-owner requests. This ability to filter is ridiculous and insulting to Internet users, completely contrary to the open-discussion nature (for good and bad) of the Web today.
Redfin.com CEO Glenn Kelman stated, “If you buy a book on Amazon or a pair of skis on eBay, there are conversations happening about the seller, about the book, about the skis, that still don’t happen in real estate. The listing agent and the seller control that conversation.”
TechCrunch.com wasn’t as polite: “Instant customer feedback is one of the most valuable assets of online retailers – to deny consumers access to such information is both annoying and foolhardy on the NAR’s part. The NAR should be supporting traditional brokers by emphasizing personal interaction and service, not by handicapping the competition.”
~Jeremy
