Offered by Pearson's For Sale By Owner Services, for the arrest and conviction of any licensed real estate agent referred to us for price fixing. If an agent leaves a message on your cell phone or home answering voice mail, save the message! Bring the message to us and we'll get it to the FBI and/or Justice Department and we will press for immediate prosecution. Price fixing is to be taken very, very seriously. Price fixing can be as simple as them saying that "nobody uses agent "A" because they are a discount broker" or "you are currently using agent "A" but no agent will show your house because they are a discount agency". This is in an attempt to try and keep real estate commissions high. Any of these, or similar statements are blatantly illegal and must be reported.
Price fixing - Trying to keep commission rates high by boycotting or steering customers away from, companies that offer less than high commission rates. Violation is a felony. Restitution to victims: civil recovery up to 3 times damages, $100M corporations and 10 years imprisonment for individuals.
Nothing is more important to real estate cartels than controlling the Multiple Listing Services (MLS), the databases of homes for sale. Real estate websites often allow home-buyers to peruse local MLS listings on the Internet. Yet they sometimes censor or omit listings sponsored by a discount broker. And many established real estate agents won't allow their own listings to appear on a discount broker's site. That spiteful move led the U.S. Justice Department to sue the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the industry's ultra-powerful lobbying group, for allowing members to discriminate against Web-based brokers.
If an agent ever tells you not list your property with a broker who offers discounted commissions, they are breaking the law. If an agent ever tells you that no agent will show your property because you are currently listed with a discount broker, they have broken the law.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Reviews
Offered by Pearson's For Sale By Owner Services, for the arrest and conviction of any licensed real estate agent referred to us for price fixing. If an agent leaves a message on your cell phone or home answering voice mail, save the message! Bring the message to us and we'll get it to the FBI and/or Justice Department and we will press for immediate prosecution. Price fixing is to be taken very, very seriously. Price fixing can be as simple as them saying that "nobody uses agent "A" because they are a discount broker" or "you are currently using agent "A" but no agent will show your house because they are a discount agency". This is in an attempt to try and keep real estate commissions high. Any of these, or similar statements are blatantly illegal and must be reported.
Price fixing - Trying to keep commission rates high by boycotting or steering customers away from, companies that offer less than high commission rates. Violation is a felony. Restitution to victims: civil recovery up to 3 times damages, $100M corporations and 10 years imprisonment for individuals.
http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/real_estate/enforce.html
http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/mergers-and-competition/real-estate-competition
Nothing is more important to real estate cartels than controlling the Multiple Listing Services (MLS), the databases of homes for sale. Real estate websites often allow home-buyers to peruse local MLS listings on the Internet. Yet they sometimes censor or omit listings sponsored by a discount broker. And many established real estate agents won't allow their own listings to appear on a discount broker's site. That spiteful move led the U.S. Justice Department to sue the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the industry's ultra-powerful lobbying group, for allowing members to discriminate against Web-based brokers.
If an agent ever tells you not list your property with a broker who offers discounted commissions, they are breaking the law. If an agent ever tells you that no agent will show your property because you are currently listed with a discount broker, they have broken the law.
Report this illegal activity immediately to the
Department of Justice Antitrust Division
[email protected] http://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Room 3322, Washington, DC 20530
Phone 1-888-647-3258 or 202-307-2040 and
Federal Trade Commission Office of Policy and Coordination Bureau of Competition
[email protected] http://www.ftc.gov/faq/competition/report-antitrust-violation
601 New Jersey Ave, NW, Room 7117, Washington, D.C. 20580
Telephone: (202) 326-3300
This type of price fixing is taken very, very seriously.
http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/5000-reward-offered-real-estate-salesmen-breaking-law-19871/