Northwest MLSis the largest multiple listing service in the Pacific Northwest. National Association of Realtors NAR in Sitzer/Burnett.
Indeed, NWMLS said its rules on buyer agent compensation are fairer and more transparent than the terms agreed to by NAR in March, which it criticized as “encouraging consumers and agents to conduct transactions in secret, outside the MLS, leading to deceptive practices, discrimination and unfair housing practices.”
“Secret Deal”
The NWMLS board of directors decided to withdraw at its most recent meeting, the organization announced Tuesday. NWMLS is member-owned and not affiliated with a national trade group, but was eligible to participate under the terms of the settlement. NWMLS has about 35,000 members and could have been exempt from claims if they had contributed about $100 per member, or $3.5 million, to the settlement fund.
But doing so would have bound NWMLS to the terms of the NAR settlement, something the group found unacceptable.
“NAR’s proposed settlement agreement largely duplicates rules and practices that have been in place for several years in the NWMLS service area, with one notable exception: the settlement agreement eliminates transparency of compensation to buyers and limits sellers’ choices by prohibiting sellers from submitting compensation offers through the MLS,” the organization said.
“Instead, the settlement agreement allows for compensation offers to be made ‘off the MLS,’ where information is hard to find and not available to all buyers or brokers. This change is a step in the wrong direction and is harmful to both consumers and brokers.”
NWMLS said changes to its rules and forms, as well as recently revised buyer representation agreements, ensure a consumer-friendly brokerage relationship and greater transparency. (The company also noted the elimination of the requirement in 2019 that sellers pay compensation to buyer’s agents, and a change in 2022 that will require buyer’s agents’ compensation to be set and paid by the seller, not the listing agent.)
“NAR’s removal of compensation transparency from the MLS encourages consumers and brokers to conduct transactions in secret, outside the MLS, inviting deceptive practices, discrimination and unfair housing,” NWMLS said. “By depriving buyers of information about their transactions, we risk harming buyers, especially those who are already at a disadvantage, such as first-time homebuyers and protected buyers.”
“Prohibiting the offering of compensation on the MLS would also unnecessarily limit a seller’s choice and absolute right to offer compensation to the brokerage firm representing the buyer.”
NWMLS said it plans to revise its forms and listing process in mid-August to ensure sellers are aware of the options that now exist when listing a property for sale.
NWMLS has not been named as a defendant in any of the Commission’s lawsuits, but Department of Justice Regarding the expression of interest in the Nosalek incident.
