Monday, March 22, 2010

Anti-competitive behaviour

There was another interesting article today on ctv.ca. It discusses the recent request of the competition bureau to the Canadian Real Estate Association. CREA has decided to oblige by this request and has suggested a solution that reduces the anti-competitive nature of real estate agents. The competition bureau looks like they will challenge CREA on their proposed solution. They do not believe it goes far enough to help reduce prices.

It is a well-known fact that real estate agents yield higher prices for homes, on average, than private sellers. It is questionable, in some cases, why this may be the case. It may be because real estate agents know their business, or, according to the competition bureau, it is because they run the MLS system.

The MLS system is the biggest tool real estate agents have to collect and share information. CREA has proposed that private sellers be able to list on MLS for a flat fee, so that they may represent themselves. It should resolve the issue of the competition bureau, but they do not believe that this will help reduce prices of homes. The competition bureau has completely rejected the proposed changes.

I expect quite the dog fight to continue. Stay tuned.

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