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Nation

WRAP-UP REPORT ON HUD’S RESPA REFORM ROUNDTABLES
During July and August, HUD convened seven roundtables that brought together industry and consumer group representatives to discuss possible changes to RESPA regulations. NAR has been represented at all roundtables, including the three field roundtables co-hosted with the Small Business Administration in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Fort Worth. At each roundtable, NAR reiterated its longstanding position which is that RESPA reform should not include lender-controlled packaging with Section 8 exemption and instead, reform efforts should focus on strengthening the Good Faith Estimate (GFE). Over the course of the HUD RESPA roundtables, virtually the entire real estate settlement services industry moved to this position, including many mortgage bankers, brokers, independent service providers and consumer advocates. NAR has successfully built support for this position and we will continue to work with the roundtable participants to communicate our general consensus message to HUD. For more information on HUD's RESPA roundtable activities go to http://www.hud.gov/respareform.

STUDY REVEALS FIERCE COMPETITION IN REAL ESTATE
Despite substantial growth of the real estate business in recent years, competition for customers among real estate brokerages in local markets across the nation is fierce, according to a study of 12 residential real estate markets by researchers at Pennsylvania State University. Although patterns of competitive activity vary from market to market, competition is strikingly high in all of the markets included in the survey. In most markets, the market share held by top firms is shrinking. In seven of the 12 markets, and four of the six largest, franchised firms have a larger percentage share of the market than do the other locally-owned firms. All markets are growing, but growth is greater and competition is more intense in larger markets. No single firm dominates any of the 12 markets; there are changes in relative market share of the top firms in each of the 12 markets, market entry of new firms, and market exit of existing firms. The study suggests that increased consumer access to online real estate information is redefining how consumers engage real estate services and may be contributing to growth of real estate markets and a high level of competition. Potential sellers are more knowledgeable about property values, alternatives, and service options. Access to multiple listing service data may be creating consumers who demand more of their real estate practitioners and other value-adding service providers. The study found evidence that national online access to local MLS data may be a critical factor in the surge in property values by acting as a “market-maker”—allowing sellers and buyers in each local real estate market to better access locally-relevant information. Researchers found no numerical evidence of discount brokerage or for-sale-by-owner sales increasing, even in the fastest growing of the 12 local markets studied. Discount brokerages involved in these areas account for less than 1 percent of the total market share. Markets included in the study were St. Louis; Tampa, Fla.; Columbus, Ohio; Madison, Wis.; Lima, Ohio; Baltimore, Md.; Culpepper, Va.; Cumberland, Md.; Charlotte, N.C.; Easton, Md.; Hagerstown, Md.; and Wilmington, N.C.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SUES NAR OVER (WRONG) MLS LISTINGS POLICY
NAR says the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the association over an MLS listings policy that no longer exists, according to a statement NAR released today. The DOJ filed a lawsuit on September 8, after the association announced a new policy governing the display of MLS listings on the Internet. Known as Internet Listing Display (ILD), the new policy consolidates and replaces both the Virtual Office Web Site (VOW) policy and the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) policy to create a single, unified policy governing the Internet display of all property information originating from the more than 800 multiple listing services owned and operated by REALTOR® organizations. In the 14-page DOJ lawsuit, only one paragraph mentions NAR’s new ILD policy. The balance of the complaint refers to the former VOW policy. The suit primarily challenges three provisions of the former policy, two of which are not part of the new ILD policy. The one provision challenged by the government in its complaint that still exists in the new NAR policy governs brokers’ ability to opt out of displaying their listings on competitors’ Web sites. The suit mischaracterized the purpose and effect of the provision, which was intended to protect brokers’ ownership rights in their property listings, according to the NAR statement. NAR has discussed provisions of the new policy with Department of Justice attorneys since May and provided them the new policy before it was made public. Under the new policy, listing brokers will not be allowed to restrict the display of their listings on selected competitors’ Web sites, as they were under the controversial provision known as “selective opt-out” contained in NAR’s now-defunct VOW policy. All MLS property listing data available for display will automatically be available to all MLS members unless a member notifies the MLS in advance that he or she does not want to participate in Internet Listing Display. In that case, none of the listings he or she enters into the MLS will be available for display on other brokers’ Web sites nor will he or she be allowed to display other brokers’ listings on his or her own Web site. A broker who has elected to “opt out” may not reverse that decision for 90 days.