Frank has a local SD page in his Facebook network, but it has been among the slower to attract new members.
He allowed me to join, but then wondered if I was the enemy. I just want to see if it gains any traction – but so far, not much. There are 254 realtors in the group, but only five properties have been imputed since November.
But if NAR continues to implode, and agents get more desperate, the whole basis of the multiple-listing system – sharing listings among agents – could die.
There are many market forces pushing towards single agency, and there may be more than one solution. In the meantime, we will see many alternatives:
From the wapo:
Excerpts:
Some agents believe that as members of MRIS they are required to list properties on the service. The issue has spurred heated discussions at local brokers offices in the region.
“We call them the old boy or old girls networks, where the small group of people that belong get the first opportunity,” said Tony Duncanson, chairman of the D.C. Real Estate Commission. “When we get into tight markets, like in the last two to three years, you start hearing about these type of networks more and more,” Duncanson said.
The close-knit networks Duncanson was referring to include brokers that only market properties to agents affiliated within the same brokerage firm. Some refer to this as a pocket listing.
“The main concern in these situations is that those properties were not given the maximum exposure to the marketplace, particularly in the good market that we have now where the seller may be able to get a better price,” Duncanson said.
“There may also be a fair housing issue,” Duncanson added. “It doesn’t seem to be fair because many people are totally excluded. There are those in the fair housing arena that consider it discriminatory because the listing is not marketed to every licensed agent.”
LLosa said he opposes pocket listings. “How is that best for the seller?” LLosa said. “I am against brokers trying to snag both sides of the deal at their clients’ expense.”
Roger Carp, managing broker of the Long & Foster office in Georgetown, agreed. “Who does it benefit not to put the house on the MLS?” he asked. “ It doesn’t benefit a seller. The MLS was created to give homes the maximum exposure possible. Anyone that is buying real estate searches the MLS. With all these different types of exclusive clubs, many Realtors are not hearing about properties that could be beneficial for their clients. In the end, the seller could be missing out.”
Some agents believe that as members of MRIS they are required to list properties on the service. The issue has spurred heated discussions at local brokers offices in the region.
“If there is permission from the consumer, then the agent does not have to list the property on MRIS,” Strauch of MRIS said.
JtR:
Small typo in 2nd paragraph. I think you meant to use the word “input/inputted”, not “imputed”.
Congratulations to Ravi on closing. Will this be owner occupied or is he renting it out?
I would suggest that the typical buyer, though, does not have the luxury of house shopping for 2+ years trying to close on a deal-type property.
I fixed it.
After all these years, I finally surrendered to a spell-checker, and I was so focused on it correcting me on the one-t-or-two that I didn’t see the ‘m’.
The typical buyer probably doesn’t start out thinking it will take two years. To go out and buy a house in a week or two takes extreme luck, or compromise.
The folks in the documentary-film did it though – they came from Atlanta and bought a house on their first trip.
But that is rare, and newcomers to the market usually have to go through the stages. It takes a while to see enough evidence to believe how crazy it is. Then once buyers commit, they usually lose a few bidding wars before they start offering enough to compete. Then making it through the inspection/repairs isn’t easy either. You gotta really want it.
Gotta didn’t make it though the spell-checker either, so I’ve already had enough of it!