Loading ...Not being a listing agent myself, I could only guess at what most of you felt yesterday after reading For Sale By Owner’s falsified press release detailing NAR’s betrayal. According to the release, Realtor.com is now featuring FSBO listings thanks to the pending antitrust settlement from May of 2008.
But Wait!! Before you start burning your REALTOR membership cards, read this statement by NAR. Supposedly, the FSBO press release was full of “deceptive” and “flat out lies”, to use Jay Thompson’s words. The release claimed that FSBO is now the first “by-owner” website to advertise listings on REALTOR.com, a breakthrough which came about due to the DOJ’s final ruling in May.
What they didn’t tell you is that the listings are not actually by-owner listings, but instead broker-sponsored listings that just originated from FSBO. Apparently the company is able to list their properties through their relationships with several licensed NAR-member brokers, making the listings broker-represented instead of by-owner. NAR states that there is no relationship between FSBO and Realtor.com, and that the website features listings provided only by “cooperative listing databases maintained by and for brokers”. They are requesting that FSBO retracts its false release and are also denying any connection between this issue and the DOJ settlement. (If you are not familiar with the case/final judgment, you can view the case files here.) FSBO’s release stated that the “settlement benefited consumers by giving them access to REALTOR.com without the expensive cost of a commission fee.” NAR maintains that there is no new access to REALTOR.com, and that the pending settlement does not in fact contain a provision that allows unlisted by-owner properties to be placed on Realtor.com
How FSBO could make this serious of a blunder is a mystery to me. In the event their statements were true, I am of the opinion that it would be a huge but surmountable blow to the industry. I presume the initial outcry heard across the land was from agents who felt deceived by NAR allowing FSBO access to REALTOR.com. The FSBO organization is viewed by most agents as a figurative black-eye, a company that thwarts REALTORs by offering homeowners a marketing avenue that bypasses the real estate office. What those opposed should keep in mind is that they still have the option to lead their buyer into a “by-owner home”. That being said, placing FSBO listings on REALTOR.com provides NAR members a larger pool of properties than before to consider for their client. The only downfall is the unavoidable publicity that FSBO will reap.
What do you think? Are you opposed to NAR’s allowance of re-routed FSBO listings on the REALTOR website? What are your thoughts on For Sale By Owner’s false release?