NAR podcast with and update on DOJ v NAR

5 comments on “NAR podcast with and update on DOJ v NAR”

  3. Beth Butler Reply

    Patti – that is a good question. Other than the fact that VOW’s can be distinguished by a required log in from the consumer, I am not sure.

    It seems much of the debate is over companies that harnessed MLS information to generate referral leads to brokers as their only function. This is where the “actively engaged” part comes in.

    Carol: There are still many questions remaining and many differing interpretations about what changes will actually take place, if any. Stay Tuned!

  4. Thomas K. Landry Reply

    I think my prior comments on this topic remain fairly accurate. A Wikipedia entry for “virtual office website” includes the following:

    “The benefit to Realtors is that registered users of their VOW web site become customers under contract. Registered users gain the benefit of more detailed information about each property and can generally see all available properties.”

    It’s about how we handle buyers. In the old days, brokers had big printed MLS books. Buyers felt privileged if they got to look at the books. Buyers remained dependent on agents for information.

    Then came the internet. Buyers gained access to important MLS information: active listings, asking prices, square footage, and whatever other basics the current IDX system offers. The EWM public website is a typical example. Buyers can get a lot of the information they want. But it’s not everything.

    My understanding is that a VOW allows a buyer to search the MLS to the same degree of detail that we MLS members can. Buyers have internet access to information about which they previously would have needed to consult an agent personally (thus the term “virtual office”), and become less dependent on agents at the search stage of the buying process.

    If, for example, buyers gain access to historical information (closed sales, pending sales, failed listings), that will be empowering for them. Same goes for access to the hotsheet.

    Once buyers determine what they want to see, they’ll still need an agent to show it to them. But their agent, by the terms of their VOW access, will be the VOW broker. EWM may wish to consider whether to offer this kind of service. If so, it seems that EWM will also need to decide how to assign VOW-generated buyers to agents. In the virtual world, who’s on floor?

  5. Jeffery Sullivan Reply

    An interesting point is that for a broker to be “actively engaged” is to show that they are actively listing OR selling, with no minimum transaction requirements. That sounds virtually meaningless to me.

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