“The Justice Department alleges in its lawsuit that the MLS rules "raise entry barriers for potential competitors by imposing burdensome prerequisites for membership; provide a means of identifying potentially aggressive competitors so they can be excluded from membership; stabilize the price of brokerage services through the prospect of price controls; deter the emergence of Internet-based brokerages; stabilize the price of, and reduce consumer options for, brokerage services by dictating the services that all brokers must provide; and discourage entry of potential competitors who raise funds through public ownership."

The announcement this week is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Justice Department and U.S. Federal Trade Commission over alleged anticompetitive activities in the real estate industry. The Justice Department has been engaged in an antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors trade group for the past two years, for example, and the FTC last year announced that it was targeting several MLS’s for rules that placed restrictions on properties based on the type of listing contract”, reported Inman News Features in a recent article. This is becoming an all too familiar story. The Feds are looking over the shoulders of MLS entities.

Surprise, surprise, another MLS is trying to fight to keep their data out of the hands of consumers for their own exclusive use. Somehow, their spin-doctoring revolves around consumer protection. We’ve never understood how knowing that a bedroom was 10’ X 10’ instead of 12’ X 12’ was invasive. The property’s characteristics have little to do with consumer protection.

When a home is listed, the goal is to sell it. That’s what the seller wants, that’s what the buyer wants and somehow MLS’s have conjured up the notion of privacy invasion for the purpose of shutting out other agents, or forcing buyers and sellers to come to them to do business. Consumers are sick of it. They want to do their Internet research and they should be allowed to do it, plain and simple. If MLS services would stop and think, instead of perpetuating their parochial practices of the past, they would find buyers and sellers are more willing to work with them provided there is free-flowing information available. Full Disclosure is very “fashionable” these days. Moreover, full disclosure helps protect brokers and agents and the MLS agencies should look out for their members.

Most importantly, full disclosure protects buyers and seller. Don’t look now, but buyers and sellers drive this trillion-plus dollar business and they should be treated with a good deal of respect.