Competition bureau aims to make property listings cheaper

If an agent list on MLS or exclusive that agent and their company become responsible for the represenaton of the property, The laws relating to represenation then must be rewritten , what happens to agency , the competition bureau has not thought this out very throughly. Is it not the compettition buraues mandate to ensure that no controls and unfair business practices occur? They are trying to legislate unfair business practices. It is still up to the agency what is charged , included not included. They are disallusioned that the listings will become cheaper, MLS is only a small fee for listings.What is their next mandate?, to tell the listing agentcy what can be charged? If the consumer does not want MLS then go exclusive Period.With the immense options of the internet MLS is now only a small part of marketing. May God Keep Our Land Strong and Free

this is great, hope they win, yes you can list a with a discount agency but the realtors boycott the listing. Most realtors throw the listing on mls and thats it and because the market has been good are able to make quick money,very few actually earn their keep. Realtors shouldnt be so concerned what the Bureau is doing as to what Google is doing, the market will force this even if the bureau doesnt.

Costsd will not come down. However, now there will be less assurances that they are selling a fair market value. Of course the lawyers and the appraisers will love this as they will get that portion of the REALTORs fees. Then the various on-line and off line marketing sourses will get the rest. Let the buyer, and the lender, beware!!

realtors dont protect anyone but themselves, laws protect buyers and sellers that why you hire a lawyer when buy or sell and home. when canada deregulated the phone industry did prices come down? they sure did and it has been alot better now that we have a competitive enviroment. Old boys clubs are good for no one but the people who are club members.

Good news !!
I hope this will happen soon that sellers can post their properties to MLS directly & no need to go through realtors !! Consumers can save lots of money !!

Fully support The Competition Bureau !!
When you buy/sell stocks you can chose Discount or Full services brokerage & why we are forced to chose full services realtors when you sell/buy properties ??

Be careful what you wish for. I spoke with a Guelph agent who heard from a private seller that he had accepted 2 offers. Unfortunately he only has 1 house to sell. This reeks of litigation...is this what everyone wants? Re. boycott, there may be individuals doing this but certainly not industry policy anywhere. In the current seller's market, agents working with buyers are being compensated less and less. Should more properties come on the the market, sellers may decide to offer greater compensation to the buyer's agent. The important thing to take from this is market forces should dictate change and not the Competition Bureau. Re. Jack, wake up...you're dreaming. MLS is organized real estate and Realtors pay significant fees to be a member. I expect the Canadian Real Estate Association to vigourously defend the Competition Bureau's efforts to force reduced fees. Ray, you have that option already. This battle has just begun.

most realtors dont deserve the high fees they charge, and dont do much work. this is a welcome development, and is long overdue. the barriers to entry to becoming a realtor are very low, with no continuing education required. a monkey could sell a house, the public does not need realtors.

K-W Realtor, realtors in BC are making fortunes and good on them, but the public needs real choice and access to information as competition is good for everyone. The fear mongering that there is going be mass litigation etc. is crazy, thats why we have laws and lawyers that will keep everything in check. The good realtors will make money even with reduced fees it just wont fall into theri laps like it has in the last 10 yrs plus. There isnt value anymore and the boycotting is alive and well in BC dont be fooled.

1) Realtors will boycott discount realtors. True.
For example, Les Twarog & Sonja Pederson's website at http://www.6717000.com/ boycotts 1% realty. More
"removing" the MLS listing from their website search once they know who it is. I know that for a fact as my neighbour was selling his condo at the same time we were and when I went to see our listing, I noticed that my neighbour's MLS (that was previously there) had been removed from the search after 1 day after posting.

2.) Realtors post on MLS for POINTS. Realtor mediallion Points. That's basically it. We stumbled upon a listing that we tried many, many times to get a look but weeks went by before the realtor got back to our realtor. Apparently the listing had a previous offer 1 year earlier but the owner wasn't sure about selling. However, it was posted on MLS just for POINTS. The realtor held out before "Selling/Letting others view the home " the house was already sold but the realtor listed it on MLS just to get POINTS. What a crap.

3.) MLS does not always have "good information" listed. Meaning, sloppy postings and calling things "strata" when a house is actually Fee simple. Duh...what kind of broker doesn't take time to ensure the posting is correct. "Views of ocean" is subjective...like "if you look out the window and between the trees, you'll see a sliver of the ocean... is NOT "Oceanview"

4) Yes...having a lawyer involved really dispels the legal need of having a realtor. A realtor is really a negotiator, marketer, advertiser,organizer & host of open houses, salesperson, or pre-appraiser of your property in the housing market. That's pretty much it. For your "time" involved, you can take this project on your own or let them do as much as you wish (but likely they won't do that much)

My opinion is to have the government take over MLS and ensure consumers have this choice to use and enable consumers to file complaints against realtors and realty boards. There's only 2 choices, leave it in the hands of realty boards or government appropriation if they are looking out for the consumer. The only way the Competition Board can do anything is really slap a significant fine on them (like on Microsoft).

Listing your home on MLS is one step in a sale of a home. The real estate agent should also be using networking with other agents as well as other internet sites besides MLS. Networking is where the agent can bring value in addition to ensuring the seller and buyer are well represented. Lawyers will ensure that things like liens, surveys and encumbrances are taken care of but they will not be at the home to ensure the seller does not misrepresent themselves ("A consumer's view" complaint about oceanview is silly, what about the seller who says the windows and roof are new or that the renovations were to code?). Buying and selling a home is not a trivial matter and realtors are mandated to take and pass many exams before they can be a realtor. There are many ways folks can get themselves in trouble and for the money they 'save' they may find themselves in a more expensive mess.

Find a good realtor, negotiate a fee (it can be a flat fee).

agent can bring value in addition to ensuring the seller and buyer are well represented. Lawyers will ensure that things like liens, surveys and encumbrances are taken care of but they. nice site to discussion

agent can bring value in addition to ensuring the seller and buyer are well represented. Lawyers will ensure that things like liens, surveys and encumbrances are taken care of but they. nice site to discussion

agent can bring value in addition to ensuring the seller and buyer are well represented. Lawyers will ensure that things like liens, surveys and encumbrances are taken care of but they. nice site to discussion ____________________________________