The Middle - might agree that NAR is still trying to protect the status quo and the income of their members. However, the members fund maintenance of the MLS with dues & time. Some internet start-ups just want access in order to use deep pockets to capture internet prospects and to sell leads back to the very REALTORS® that gave them access in the first place. Adding to the cost of doing business is unlikely to get real estate brokerages to reduce pricing.
If we're really thinking of the consumer, perhaps making all referral fees illegal would be worth a look. Yes, sorry to say, that would include referrals from broker to broker also! However, if nobody can profit from merely providing the contact information of an internet real estate prospect to another, there might be much less heard about opening up the MLS to the public. Of course, we'd also assume that this would be greeted positively by NAR, and the information provided freely for the consumer.
Our next and final page summarizes and suggests more.
