proj-imim:
RE: Realtor.com & IPIX
John Spikowski 2000-May-20 19:32:10
Ed,
Seems I'm not the only one having a problem with REALTOR.COM.
John
Contact: Giles Cassels
Homes.com
650.475.2504
Homes.com Asserts “Bill of Rights” for Consumers and Real Estate Agents in
Light of DOJ Investigation of Homestore.com
Online Real Estate Network Urges Open Access for Home Buyers, Home Sellers,
Brokers, and Agents
Menlo Park, Calif. (May 10, 2000) — On the heels of the Department of
Justice investigation into possible anti-competitive practices by
Homestore.com (HOMS) involving Multiple Listings Service (MLS) real estate
listings, Homes.com (www.homes.com) today established a set of fundamental
rights for home buyers and sellers and the real estate professionals who
serve them.
This Bill of Rights begins with a call to give national online real estate
websites equal access to MLS property listings. It also provides guidelines
to ensure that both consumers and real estate professionals alike have the
greatest level of choice and services available through the Internet.
The DOJ investigation and this response from Homes.com arise from the
exclusive agreements made between a large number of MLS organizations and
Realtor.com, a division of online real estate web site Homestore.com. These
exclusive contracts limit access to the MLS property listings, which force
consumers and real estate professionals to use Realtor.com for online
services. Even though the consumer’s home listing is inserted into the MLS
by individual real estate agents and brokers, only the local MLS
organizations benefit from the contracts with Homestore.com through gains on
stock granted to them for exclusivity.
“Restricting the MLS listings to a single online provider harms nearly
everyone involved with the real estate industry,” said Bob Prince, president
and CEO of Homes.com. “In fact, the only ones who have benefited from these
agreements are the MLSs, National Association of Realtors (NAR) executives,
and Homestore.com investors. Homebuyers have fewer options, sellers lose
exposure for their homes, and real estate brokers and agents face the
prospect of being penalized for choosing other online providers. We believe
that online real estate services must compete on the basis of the value and
quality of the services they provide to consumers and to real estate
professionals, not by anti-competitive measures such as blocking access to
listing information.”
Through statements to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and
recommendations to local MLSs and real estate boards, Homes.com seeks to
open the restricted listings to all online real estate sites and to permit
all real estate professionals to utilize the listings on behalf of
home-buying and selling consumers.
Homes.com has outlined the following fundamental rights for consumers and
real estate professionals:
1.. Home sellers have the right for their homes to receive the maximum
exposure possible, and therefore the best price and quickest sale, and not
have exposure restricted to a single online service.
2.. Consumers and real estate professionals have the right to public
disclosure whether the MLS and local real estate board has accepted cash
and/or stock in exchange for purposely limiting the distribution of the
consumers’ home listing information to just one national website.
3.. Real estate professionals have the right to develop superior Web
services without being handicapped by restrictive practices that harm
consumers, foster confusion and create ill will.
4.. Consumers have the right to fast and easy access to information on all
available properties.
5.. Consumers have the right to choose online services based upon which
features are most useful and valuable to them.
6.. Real estate professionals have the right to choose Web-based marketing
services that most enhance their productivity and ability to serve their
customers, and not be artificially forced into less attractive options.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Howard [mailto:#removed#]
Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2000 9:34 AM
To: #removed#; PROJ-IMIM
Subject: Re: Realtor.com & IPIX
>From the FAQ section at Realtor.com
What if I am an Agent or Office i-Lead customer?
While REALTOR.COM does not post virtual tours to Agent or Office i-Lead
home pages that it hosts, we will point to Agent or Office i-Lead home pages
that are not hosted by REALTOR.COM and include virtual tours from other
virtual tour providers.
----- Original Message -----
From: John Spikowski <#removed#>
To: PROJ-IMIM <#removed#>
Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2000 4:04 AM
Subject: Realtor.com & IPIX
> I tried to find out how to post a real estate virtual tour to Realtor.com
that
> wasn't IPIX based. I was told (by Realtor.com) they have a contract with
IPIX
> to only except their tours. Everyone else is locked out.
>
> Is that legal ???
>
> They "extract" listings from MLS sites and post them to their site. If
it's the
> agents listing, how can they prevent the agent the choice of virtual tour
> vendors?
>
> Am I alone on this?
>
> John
>
>
>