MLS RULE CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO COMPETITION BUREAU

The national organization that oversees all Canadian MLS systems, CREA, (the Canadian Real Estate Association) modified some of its rules today in order calm some fears that the Competition Bureau has about residential data listing practices.  Most of the rule changes are simply rewording to make it clearer that the rules are in a competitive spirit.  Real estate is one of the most competitive businesses, and our rules reflect that.  There is one rule addition; that being that a Realtor can now make the owner’s contact information of a property for sale available to the public if they desire.

As a Realtor, I am a member of CREA, and am able to make your properties for sale visible on realtor.ca, (if you haven’t sold or bought in a while you may remember it as mls.ca).  Behind the scenes, the data on this site is fed by individual board’s databases.  I am a member of the Toronto Real Estate Board, so when you ask me to sell your house or condo I place the photos and information on my local board, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s internal database, where other Realtors of the Toronto Real Estate Board can see it.  If they have an interested client, they call me up, we do the deal, and your property is sold.  That same data is also sent to realtor.ca where potential buyers who don’t have a Realtor yet can see it.  So, a hopeful buyer goes to realtor.ca sees your house that I am selling for you, and he gives me a call.  If they like it, they buy it, or I help them find something else better suited to them.  So, that’s what realtor.ca is for, it’s advertising.  This is how the MLS systems work.  It is the premiere method of selling real estate in Canada.

However, the Competition Bureau has concerns that consumers should be able to pick and choose the precise services that they need from a Realtor, and not have to pay for every possible service, including those that the consumer will never use.  I think this idea is actually quite wonderful, if the Competition Bureau gets their way, the next time we meet to sell your house, I will have a menu, and you can select the services you want from me.  If you think another Realtor has better skills in a certain area or offering those services at a lower price, you can hire me for one part and the other Realtor for the second part, all at the same time.

My menu will include all the services I do in the process of a sale.

[  ] recording data and photos / videos

[  ] posting of data and photos and to which databases?

[  ] advertising (web / print / other)

[  ] open houses

[  ] paperwork / administration

[  ] handling phone calls from interested people

[  ] showing the property

[  ] negotiating with interested people

[  ] protecting your interests

[  ] responsibility for success / failure

[  ] co-ordination of all components

[  ] ensuring deadlines are met

[  ] couriering cheques / contracts / other important papers on time

[  ] strategic planning / advice

[  ] other _____________________

you can pick those you want, those you want to do yourself, or those you want someone else to do. It certainly gives the consumer more options, but I am not sure the end result will be more cost effective.

The concerns I have with the proposal is first, what happens if the consumer decides they don’t want a particular service at the outset, but then as time goes on, they change their mind.  The second is the question of accountability. At least now, as it is, I am responsible for a particular sale’s success or failure.  There is only one person to blame, me.  Under this a la carte system, you will turn a professional enterprise into a political game.  That cannot be good for the consumer.

This matter is still unresolved by the way, so we will have to wait and see how the Competition Tribunal decides.