Clearing the air on Clear Cooperation
“this is about what kind of industry we want to be, and what kind of housing market we want to create: open or closed.
It is that simple. It is that important.“
Brian Boero, 1000watt
Brian writes so well it almost makes me want to give up writing myself. In his “Friday Flash” he breaks down the posturing and rhetoric surrounding CCP and gets down to the real issues. It’s about whether we as an industry want an open or closed market.
I’m with Brian. “I want open.”
This a must read. Especially if you are at the Department of Justice.
The most important he forgot that no matter what posturing is being done is that there are already lawsuits about this topic and we need to do whatever we can to protect brokers and MLSs from getting another expensive hit. I’m not sure we can take another punch at this point. Bottom line every broker and MLS should be pushing to provide consumers with the most listing transparency they can while threading the delicate needle of avoiding behavior that can be perce Ved as anti competitive. I would like to see e wey market publish a report like Bright did that proactively proved that MLSs operate in the best interest of consumers. It’s time to educate every regulator at the state and national levels and every consumer about the true value of a comprehensive and timely database devoid of fair housing violations.
I WANT OPEN!!!! It SHOULD be all about the consumer, yet the consumer is the first thing that we lose sight of with this argument. Up until recently I was a member of faculty for our local association (LVR) and I often taught the MLS portion of the two day New Member Orientation. I explain what a private listing network is by saying, “Imagine stopping at your neighborhood grocery store on you way home from work and the first three aisles are roped off. You tell the store manager that you want to purchase products from the aisles that you clearly do not have access to. The store manager says sorry those aisles are private and you only can have access to those aisles based on who you hire to represent you.” Now you have to consider a new issue, fast forward to after the NAR settlement and we can amend that to “you can only have access to those aisles based on who you can AFFORD to represent you”. How is a private listing network consumer interest friendly and in compliance with fair housing?