COMPETITION BUREAU UPDATE
On September 30th, the Board of Directors of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) approved a settlement with the Competition Bureau, subject to member approval at the Special General Meeting (SGM) to be held in St. John's later this month. The SGM is a yearly event held every fall for members of CREA. The agreement with the Bureau will only be final if members vote in favour at the SGM. Until that time, the agreement is in escrow, and CREA will make no further public comment in advance of the SGM. In the event the agreement is not ratified, the litigation will continue its course, with Tribunal hearings beginning next April.
CREA is making every attempt to correct some of the factually inaccurate reporting that is leading some consumers to think that full service companies will now be forced to list properties on the MLS with little or no service or a schedule of services. This is not the case.
CREA strongly emphasizes the following:
"The agreement (with the Competition Bureau) does not grant public access to the MLS System. Moreover, it does not require brokerages to change their business models. The agreement specifies that Boards and Associations cannot prevent or discriminate against mere posting business models. CREA has always maintained its rules do no such thing."
In other words, the public still needs to use the services of a Realtor to place a listing on MLS. So.......it's business as usual until further notice!
Posted by Beverley Breslow
on October 8, 2010