You may have heard that the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) has settled an antitrust lawsuit against them that alleged a conspiracy to inflate real estate commissions. The NAR had initially vowed to appeal the Sitzer Burnette case in Missouri, the case that went to trial and where the plaintiffs were awarded almost 2 billion dollars. The NAR was hit with a slew of other cases, and there was no way they could post the bond to appeal the Sitzer case and fight all the copycat lawsuits.
The biggest takeaway of the NAR settlement is the removal of the co-broke field from their affiliated MLSs and any broker-owned MLS that opts into their settlement. Additionally, buyer-broker agreements will be required and far more tedious. They got rid of many of the benefits they, and their local NAR-affiliated MLSs, offered and kept the worst policies like clear cooperation and mandatory NAR membership for all agents under a NAR broker… and they kept all the fines.
Is Anything Changing With The Nationwide MLS?
We have been getting a lot of questions about what changes My State MLS will be making, if any. My State MLS is not now and has never been affiliated with the NAR and we have always done things differently than the local MLS. My State MLS was founded due to onerous NAR rules that resulted in fines and other practices that limited the business models of real estate brokers who are our members. My State MLS does not require our members to be members of the NAR, nor do we follow their rules that were deemed anti-competitive. We have never required buyer-broker compensation to be offered on a listing, but we allow that ‘co-broke field’ to be part of our information-sharing system. We will continue to allow the cooperative compensation text field.
As always, our forms allow you to enter the type of cooperative compensation you wish to offer, if any. You may still choose the NO FEE button if you are not offering any cooperative compensation. We also will NOT be requiring a buyer-broker agreement to be executed before showing a property. We feel this policy should be left up to the broker, who is the responsible party and state law licensee. At My State MLS, our primary goal is to provide top-notch MLS and brokerage-related services WITHOUT telling brokers and agents how they should run their businesses. We are a data distributor for our industry – we do not dictate how you can or cannot do business.
We understand that some brokers may not want to publish the cooperative compensation, and we understand that to accommodate our members and help them facilitate showings, we are adding a “Request To Co-Broke” feature to each listing. Next to the cooperative compensation field, we’re incorporating a “request to co-broke” button. This feature will allow a buyer’s agent to inquire about any cooperative compensation that may be available, negotiate that fee, and sign a co-broke agreement with the listing agent through our platform and text or email the agent on the other side of the transaction directly. After the fee is negotiated, members can use our ‘schedule a showing’ feature to make their showing appointments.
Many of our members currently also work with other agents who may not be My State MLS members. Now is the time to let them know that you are a My State member and that these changes will allow real estate agents to easily navigate the new industry landscape. You can share this letter with them if it helps them answer any questions they may have. Also, you can call us, chat with us on our website, or email us at office@mystatemls.com. Make sure to share your affiliate link with them so you get compensated for bringing in members and helping to establish My State MLS as a critical player in your specific market.
MyState MLS IS The Best Solution
My State MLS is the best solution available to the real estate industry right now concerning solving the issue of cooperative compensation, co-brokerage agreements, and buyer-broker agreements, and we offer many benefits that local MLSs do not. My State MLS has been operating Nationwide for almost 10 years and has members in every state. We provide a clear alternative to the traditional NAR brokerage model and have removed many of the fines, rules, and inconveniences that exist with being in a NAR-affiliated MLS.
