The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Columbia, SC Multiple Listing Service (MLS) have agreed to settle an antitrust lawsuit filed one year ago.

The DOJ filed the law suit on behalf of consumers, accusing the Columbia, SC area MLS of illegally stiffling competition to keep sales commissions and fee’s high. 

Some of the charges against the Columbia MLS are:

1. The Columbia MLS required all brokers to offer identical services to consumers (ie: full service listings).  The intent was to eliminate flat fee MLS and ala carte brokers, whose business model allowed home seller’s to chose services they were willing to pay for.
2. The Columbia MLS charged $5000 member initiation fee’s, far exceeding the costs charged by other MLS’s.   By raising the initiation dues, the Columbia MLS hoped to make the dues prohibitively expensive for new brokers or for those with alternative business models that charge less for their services.
3. The MLS board forced members to use one form for services.   This form prohibited home sellers from doing some of the sales work themselves in an attempt to save money.
4. The Columbia board required brokers to have a stand alone office, apart from their homes.   The ban on home based business kept overhead costs high for brokers operating on a low cost sales model, making it difficult for them to compete with traditional 6 percent brokers.

DOJ Agreement Forces Major Rule Changes in SC:

1. The Columbia, SC area MLS agreement “will remove unlawful impediments to competition for real estate brokerage services in the Columbia area and will lead to more choices and lower brokerage fees for South Carolina consumers,” said Christine Varney, assistant attorney general in charge of antitrust at the DOJ.
2. The Columbia MLS has agreed to allow membership to any broker in charge, regardless of their business model (ie: flat fee MLS and ala carte services).
3. The board must allow home owners the right to choose the services that they want, in order to save money in selling commissions and fee’s.
4. The MLS must repeal rules that require a single contract form for service.
5. The standalone office requirement has been removed. Broker members can work from home to keep their overhead low.
6. The Columbia MLS will allow members from other area’s to use their service and access the MLS data. 

Why 6 Percent  applauds the DOJ on its win to protect South Carolina sellers and buyers alike.   It is a Realtor’s fiduciary obligation to expose a home seller’s property to as many sources as possible, even if they want to do some of the work themselves.   It is also the right of every broker to work with consumers in any legal way that they chose.  The DOJ settlement should go a long way toward lessening the costs or buying and selling property in South Carolina.

Why 6 Percent has flat fee MLS and ala carte brokers ready to serve home sellers in South Carolina.   Call us today at 1-800-381-9496 to learn how to expose your home to thousands of buyer agents and millions of home shoppers each month.

1. Hindi sms says:

   April 25, 2010 at 4:29 am

   I wish more people would write blogs like this that are actually helpful to read. With all the fluff floating around on the internet, it is a great change of pace to read a blog like yours instead.