Vito Pilieci
Province
The Canadian Real Estate Association will ask its members to bow to the demands of the Competition Bureau of Canada and allow easier and possibly cheaper access to its Multiple Listing Service.
Association president Dale Ripplinger said Wednesday its 98,000 members will be asked to allow agents to list a home on MLS without forcing customers to accept a bundle of other real-estate-related services, such as the agent presenting all offers.
Ripplinger said he has had intense discussions with the bureau to address its claims that the real-estate industry has become anti-competitive. The changes to MLS are among “the rule clarifications that the commissioner had identified, and we agreed with the commissioner that we would take steps to clarify that rule,” he said.
Earlier this week, the Competition Bureau said CREA’s control of access to MLS “limits consumer choice” and prevents real-estate agents from being more “innovative” in their services.
After a lengthy investigation, the bureau announced it would proceed with its case and haul CREA before the federal Competition Tribunal to force an end to the practices.
CREA will ask its members to make changes to rules governing MLS at their annual general meeting March 22 in Ottawa.
If accepted by the membership, a home seller would be able to pay a flat fee to a real-estate agent for an MLS listing, without having to sign an agreement for further services from the agent.
“If that rule change is accepted at our AGM in March, which I expect it will, then the answer would be yes [sellers can do that],” said Ripplinger. “We have clarified our rules and told the commissioner that would no longer be an issue.”
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