Are State Laws Preventing Technology from Helping Buyers?

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice recently came out with a report supporting research by the National Association of Realtors and showing that over 80% of home buyers use the Internet as a primary tool in their search process.  The FTC and DOJ also stated that some state laws are preventing buyer and sellers from gaining the full benefit that the Internet was expected to bring to the real estate industry.

These laws that ban rebates and require agents to perform a minimum amount of work during the buying or selling process of homes and condos are preventing buyers from benefiting from the costs savings that come from online competition, rebates, and incentives.  Other restrictions by state law affect fee-for-service listings where brokers offer a flat fee to list the property instead of a commission.  These laws affect MLS type services and online resources offering rebates and do not affect other national advertising portals such as NewCondosOnline.com. 

FTC and DOJ recommend that states repeal the laws and regulations that limit competition and both agencies are doing what they can to counteract anticompetitive behavior in the business.  Many states have agreed to remove these restrictions.