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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mick Mørmøny who wrote (42321)	9/29/2005 9:40:22 PM
From: patron_anejo_por_favor	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

Nice to see Prof. Piggington getting some love from the press, he's a good guy (even posted here now and again). Guess I missed my chance for fame and fortune by starting this thread rather than a blog...oh well, blogging's no fun, you don't get shot back at near enough for my tastes.....a day without someone telling me I was 4 years too early is like a day without sunshine, I say....<G>

To: Mick Mørmøny who wrote (42321)	10/1/2005 8:36:38 AM
From: Mick Mørmøny	Respond to of 306849

Realtor Group Faces Inquiry Into Its Ways By JENNIFER 8. LEE Published: October 1, 2005 The Real Estate Board of New York has received subpoenas from state and federal officials requesting "any and all" data and records about the standardization of commissions and the establishment of a multiple listing service in New York City, the board's president, Steven Spinola, said yesterday. New York City's fractious real estate market has long fought the adoption of a so-called multiple-listing service, a centralized repository of listings shared by competitive brokers that is a standard feature in almost every other large city in the country. Manhattan's limited supply of properties, and the high prices they command, has encouraged brokers acting on behalf of sellers to hoard their listings instead of splitting commissions with brokers acting on behalf of buyers, helping to thwart attempts to build a multiple listing service in New York. Mr. Spinola said that the board, the trade association that oversees most real estate transactions in Manhattan, did not have some of the documentation sought by the subpoenas, which are from the New York State attorney general's office and the Federal Trade Commission's New York regional office. The deadline is Oct. 27. "They asked us for documents I know we don't have," Mr. Spinola said, specifically citing the requests about setting commissions. "We don't even discuss commission rates. We understand that you can't set commissions. That's a negotiated item between the seller of the apartment and the broker that they are hiring." Mr. Spinola also said that the board does not keep track of listings that are exchanged between brokers. "The board does not have a centralized database," he said. "We established rules and regulations for 265 firms to send to each other their exclusive listing. They asked us for copies of our data. Well, we don't have data. We will provide them with whatever we have, but I can't make up documentation." The subpoenas follow an antitrust lawsuit brought last month by the federal Justice Department against the National Association of Realtors, which is not affiliated with the New York board. The lawsuit alleges that the association is obstructing brokers who use the Internet to offer lower costs to consumers. The association has said that the department is suing over an outdated policy that was updated earlier this month. nytimes.com