FTC Busts Online Realtors On Antitrust Case

The Austin Board of Realtors found itself on the receiving end of the Federal Trade Commission's ire due to the FTC's contention the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) used by the Board blocked the marketing of certain listings from the service. As these listings were for "exclusive agency" agreements, which provide lower or no commissions to realtors, the FTC considered the banning of these listings as unlawfully restraining competition. The FTC explained in a response to the FTC's statement, the Austin Board's president and CEO, David Foster, took issue with its wording: "As an association that supports members of all business models, we feel the approach outlined in the FTC ruling is correct. However, we also feel the FTC's press release misrepresented the purpose of the ABoR rule." Foster continued, "The rule was initially established to ensure that our consumer Web site was used to promote listings to benefit members. We realized, however, that the rule was confusing and did not work as well as we'd intended, which was why it was rescinded so quickly. We are disappointed that the FTC's press release implies that we are guilty of wrongdoing -- which the agreement expressly contradicts -- and that the spirit of cooperation with which the FTC and ABoR negotiated the consent order did not translate to the FTC's public statement." Tag: Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl Bookmark Murdok: David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.