Code of Ethics and MLS Brokers

By Stephanie Collier

6/20/2023

NAR reaches agreement with the DOJ

NAR reaches agreement with the DOJ:

Last Thursday, the National Association reached an agreement with the Department of Justice to make changes to the Code of Ethics and MLS Policies regarding providing information about commissions and MLS participation.

Once we receive final language on proposed Rules changes, NTREIS will take the steps necessary to adopt the language and implement any policy changes. As of now, it would appear the only major change for our system will be to ensure that the offer of compensation to cooperating agents is included on consumer displays and reports, providing transparency to potential buyers on the amount being offered to their representative in the transaction. This has been the basis of several recent class action filings and some MLS systems have already begun displaying this data.

Additionally, the agreement will require access to lockboxes to licensed agents whehter or not the agent is an MLS subscriber. There will also be rules that specify buyer's agents to be clear about how they are compensated and not represent to clients that their services are free.

Newly installed NAR President Charlie Oppler has issued the following statement: Charlie Oppler video

CoStar acquires HomeSnap
News broke this week that Co-Star, traditionally a powerhouse in the commercial property marketplace has acquired HomeSnap, the residential search technology that also powers the Broker Public Portal.

CoStar acquired Apartments.com several years ago, and NTREIS does have a direct data feed agreement for that purpose, which allows Brokers to send rental listings to Apartments.com. CoStar also owns LandAmerica, a destination available in the ListHub syndication.

NTREIS does not have an agreement with HomesSnap nor the Broker Public Portal.

In interviews this week about the acquisition, Co-Star CEO has indicated that he favors the CoStar commercial model of marketing properties and the Murdoch owned REA Group model operating in Australia. CoStar is also making a bid for acquisition of Corelogic; however, there are other bidders in that marketplace as well.

NAR MLS Policy Changes
NAR passed 8 new MLS Policy Changes that MLS systems are required to adopt for 2021. We will be reviewing these for implementation.
The Recommendations and rationale may be reviewed on the NAR hub or here: MLS Policy Recommendations