real estate broker too
Feds probe real estate agents - Apr. 22, 2005 Web CNN/Money Buying & Selling Investment Property Home Improvement Million $ Life Financing Best Places SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | SUBSCRIBE TO MONEY | Feds probe real estate agents Money magazine investigation shows Justice Dept. looking into anticompetitive practices. April 22, 2005: 5:27 PM EDT By Jon Birger, Money Magazine NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Did you pay your real estate broker too much? The U.S. Department of Justice may be set to turn Tulsa, Okla. into a test-case for ending the stranglehold 6 percent commissions have over the real estate brokerage business. MONEY has learned that Justice's Antitrust Division is gathering information on the bully tactics that full-commission brokers in Tulsa allegedly use against their discount rivals to discourage commission-cutting. The probe follows other recent efforts to spur competition in the real estate industry. According to a copy of a Justice Department subpoena obtained by MONEY, federal investigators are seeking information on "possible anticompetitive conduct in the provision of real estate services in the Tulsa area" as well as "documents related to refusal to cooperate on real estate transactions." An Antitrust Division spokeswoman confirmed the existence of the investigation but declined to provide additional details. Al Unser, executive director of the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors said: "We received a CID [civil investigative demand] from the Justice Dept. and we have responded." Economists who study real estate, such as the University of Cincinnati's Norm Miller, believe anti-competitive behavior is the primary explanation for the persistence of the 6 percent commission. J.D. Smith and Bob Meyer are two Tulsa discount real estate agents who say they were interviewed by federal investigators. They say the investigators wanted information on full-commission agents' alleged refusal to show home-buying clients properties listed by discount brokers -- a tactic known as boycotting. Boycotting exploits the one major weakness of the multiple listing service. The MLS's upside is that it centralizes all homes for sale in a single electronic marketplace that can be accessed by all agents -- and these days by Web-savvy consumers as well. The downside is that brokers must depend on one another to help sell their homes, and that discourages them from undercutting each other's commissions. While boycotting the listings of discounters is generally considered an antitrust violation -- if undisclosed, it's also a breach of fiduciary duty to clients -- industry insiders are well aware that boycotting goes on, even if they claim not to condone it. For Smith, the Feds' investigation comes a year or so too late. His realty business on the brink of ruin, Smith recently abandoned discount brokerage and went back to charging 6 percent. "In one week," Smith said, "I've had more showings and more offers from other realtors than I had in the previous two months." The Tulsa investigation is part of an ongoing Antitrust Division foray into the sharp-elbowed realty world. In March, the Antitrust Division sued the Kentucky Real Estate Commission over a state law that prohibits real estate brokers from offering commission rebates to consumers. More recently, Assistant Attorney General R. Hewitt Pate sent letters to lawmakers and regulators in Oklahoma and Texas, urging them to reject proposals that would effectively prohibit brokers from engaging in limited-service or fee-for-service realty -- such as listing a home for sale on the multiple listing service for a flat fee of $500. Bruce Hahn, chairman of the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, argues that state prohibitions on rebates and fee-for-service discourage competition and inflate commissions paid by consumers. "We've talked to Justice, and we think what they're doing is tremendous," he said. E-mail Jon Birger at jbirger@moneymail.com. The Hot List Most profitable renovations How risky is your 401(k)? Big new tax credits for hybrid cars More Real Estate How to buy and build on rural land Most overvalued housing markets When booms go bust... contact us | magazine customer service | site map | glossary | RSS | press room OTHER NEWS: CNN | SI | Fortune | Business2.0 = Money subscribers = Premium content -- * - Time reflects local markets trading time. † - Intraday data is at least 15-minutes delayed. Disclaimer © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms under which this service is provided to you. privacy policy Reprints of site stories are available. Top Stories Most overvalued housing markets Risks to the economy in 2006 Which was the worst ad of all in 2005? After the ride, a rest Hilton brands reunite after 40 years YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Real Estate Antitrust Division Corporate Governance Oklahoma or Create your own Manage alerts | What is this?
Real Estate Prices This
The Scoop » Chicago Real Estate Prices -- Home About Projects The Fix Tags The Scoop Derek Willis’ weblog on investigative and computer-assisted reporting. Your Host Hi, I'm Derek , CAR geek, IRE member and Apple user. This is the permanent link for the entry Chicago Real Estate Prices This post has been tagged as Illinois . Related entries: Rock River Valley Sales Tax Receipts Illinois Government Pensions Crime Inc. Still separate, unequal Illinois Pork Spending Towards Crisis Chicago School Fire Violations Illinois Air National Guard Training Chicago Payback Illinois School Days Unpaid Fines Unused Transit Passes Drunk Driving Boys and Girls Chicago School Integration Illinois Speeders Chicago's Middle Class Chicago Park Lands Public Credit Card, Private Expenses Preserving Politicians Hidden Donations to Cook County Sheriff Unused Sick Days Chicago's Do-Nothing Trucks Illinois' Moving Property Hospital Insurance Policy All About Acevedo Madison County Asbestos Litigation Illinois Judicial Campaign Money Blago Donors Get State Jobs Cook County Forest Preserve Housing Illinois Securities Fraud Settlement Chicago Contracting Illini Hoop Tickets Chicago Recycling Chicago School Sex Offenders Cook County Overtime Illinois Nursing Home Sex Offenders Illinois Congressional Travel Chicago Subsidized Housing Illinois School Employees Chicago Hispanic Democratic Organization Illinois School Discipline Illinois Traffic Stops "Massive fraud" in Chicago city hiring Illinois Engineering Donors Illinois Crime Statistics Peoria Siren Warning System Chicago Mortgage Fraud Chicago Vacant Land Deals Northwest Indiana Crime Rates The Mercury Menace Categories Apple (12) Asides (129) Broadcast (37) Car Tools (60) Data (97) DIY (361) Fed Data (318) FOIA (198) IRE (22) Journalism (95) Local Data (379) Mapping (51) Miscellany (49) NonGov Data (30) Online (16) Paper Trail (653) Public Records (78) Python (25) Social Network Analysis (2) State Data (524) XML (34) September 2005 M T W T F S S « Aug Oct » 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 « Peoria Siren Warning System Brevard County Disaster Planning » Chicago Real Estate Prices Posted on Friday, September 16th, 2005 at 4:31 pm. Filed Under NonGov Data . Mary Umberger, Geoff Dougherty, Sharon Stangenes, John Handley and Wayne Faulkner of the Chicago Tribune used local property data from the Chicago Association of Realtors to show that “ property on the South Side and in the south suburbs is hot , with price appreciation in the year ended June 30 exceeding the 10-year average annual price growth in many metro neighborhoods and towns. At the same time, however, one-fourth of 319 Chicago-area communities saw home appreciation drop below their 10-year annual averages.” No responses to 'Chicago Real Estate Prices'. RSS feed for comments and Trackback URI for 'Chicago Real Estate Prices'. Leave a Comment Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Choose from Full RSS or comments RSS feeds. XHTML sometimes validates, whilst CSS should also validate. -- The Scoop is powered by WordPress 1.5.1.3 and delivered to you in 0.711 seconds. Design by Matthew . Administrator login and new user registration .
real estate broker too
Feds probe real estate agents - Apr. 22, 2005 Web CNN/Money Buying & Selling Investment Property Home Improvement Million $ Life Financing Best Places SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | SUBSCRIBE TO MONEY | Feds probe real estate agents Money magazine investigation shows Justice Dept. looking into anticompetitive practices. April 22, 2005: 5:27 PM EDT By Jon Birger, Money Magazine NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Did you pay your real estate broker too much? The U.S. Department of Justice may be set to turn Tulsa, Okla. into a test-case for ending the stranglehold 6 percent commissions have over the real estate brokerage business. MONEY has learned that Justice's Antitrust Division is gathering information on the bully tactics that full-commission brokers in Tulsa allegedly use against their discount rivals to discourage commission-cutting. The probe follows other recent efforts to spur competition in the real estate industry. According to a copy of a Justice Department subpoena obtained by MONEY, federal investigators are seeking information on "possible anticompetitive conduct in the provision of real estate services in the Tulsa area" as well as "documents related to refusal to cooperate on real estate transactions." An Antitrust Division spokeswoman confirmed the existence of the investigation but declined to provide additional details. Al Unser, executive director of the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors said: "We received a CID [civil investigative demand] from the Justice Dept. and we have responded." Economists who study real estate, such as the University of Cincinnati's Norm Miller, believe anti-competitive behavior is the primary explanation for the persistence of the 6 percent commission. J.D. Smith and Bob Meyer are two Tulsa discount real estate agents who say they were interviewed by federal investigators. They say the investigators wanted information on full-commission agents' alleged refusal to show home-buying clients properties listed by discount brokers -- a tactic known as boycotting. Boycotting exploits the one major weakness of the multiple listing service. The MLS's upside is that it centralizes all homes for sale in a single electronic marketplace that can be accessed by all agents -- and these days by Web-savvy consumers as well. The downside is that brokers must depend on one another to help sell their homes, and that discourages them from undercutting each other's commissions. While boycotting the listings of discounters is generally considered an antitrust violation -- if undisclosed, it's also a breach of fiduciary duty to clients -- industry insiders are well aware that boycotting goes on, even if they claim not to condone it. For Smith, the Feds' investigation comes a year or so too late. His realty business on the brink of ruin, Smith recently abandoned discount brokerage and went back to charging 6 percent. "In one week," Smith said, "I've had more showings and more offers from other realtors than I had in the previous two months." The Tulsa investigation is part of an ongoing Antitrust Division foray into the sharp-elbowed realty world. In March, the Antitrust Division sued the Kentucky Real Estate Commission over a state law that prohibits real estate brokers from offering commission rebates to consumers. More recently, Assistant Attorney General R. Hewitt Pate sent letters to lawmakers and regulators in Oklahoma and Texas, urging them to reject proposals that would effectively prohibit brokers from engaging in limited-service or fee-for-service realty -- such as listing a home for sale on the multiple listing service for a flat fee of $500. Bruce Hahn, chairman of the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, argues that state prohibitions on rebates and fee-for-service discourage competition and inflate commissions paid by consumers. "We've talked to Justice, and we think what they're doing is tremendous," he said. E-mail Jon Birger at jbirger@moneymail.com. The Hot List Most profitable renovations How risky is your 401(k)? Big new tax credits for hybrid cars More Real Estate How to buy and build on rural land Most overvalued housing markets When booms go bust... contact us | magazine customer service | site map | glossary | RSS | press room OTHER NEWS: CNN | SI | Fortune | Business2.0 = Money subscribers = Premium content -- * - Time reflects local markets trading time. † - Intraday data is at least 15-minutes delayed. Disclaimer © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms under which this service is provided to you. privacy policy Reprints of site stories are available. Top Stories Most overvalued housing markets Risks to the economy in 2006 Which was the worst ad of all in 2005? After the ride, a rest Hilton brands reunite after 40 years YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Real Estate Antitrust Division Corporate Governance Oklahoma or Create your own Manage alerts | What is this?
Real Estate Prices This
The Scoop » Chicago Real Estate Prices -- Home About Projects The Fix Tags The Scoop Derek Willis’ weblog on investigative and computer-assisted reporting. Your Host Hi, I'm Derek , CAR geek, IRE member and Apple user. This is the permanent link for the entry Chicago Real Estate Prices This post has been tagged as Illinois . Related entries: Rock River Valley Sales Tax Receipts Illinois Government Pensions Crime Inc. Still separate, unequal Illinois Pork Spending Towards Crisis Chicago School Fire Violations Illinois Air National Guard Training Chicago Payback Illinois School Days Unpaid Fines Unused Transit Passes Drunk Driving Boys and Girls Chicago School Integration Illinois Speeders Chicago's Middle Class Chicago Park Lands Public Credit Card, Private Expenses Preserving Politicians Hidden Donations to Cook County Sheriff Unused Sick Days Chicago's Do-Nothing Trucks Illinois' Moving Property Hospital Insurance Policy All About Acevedo Madison County Asbestos Litigation Illinois Judicial Campaign Money Blago Donors Get State Jobs Cook County Forest Preserve Housing Illinois Securities Fraud Settlement Chicago Contracting Illini Hoop Tickets Chicago Recycling Chicago School Sex Offenders Cook County Overtime Illinois Nursing Home Sex Offenders Illinois Congressional Travel Chicago Subsidized Housing Illinois School Employees Chicago Hispanic Democratic Organization Illinois School Discipline Illinois Traffic Stops "Massive fraud" in Chicago city hiring Illinois Engineering Donors Illinois Crime Statistics Peoria Siren Warning System Chicago Mortgage Fraud Chicago Vacant Land Deals Northwest Indiana Crime Rates The Mercury Menace Categories Apple (12) Asides (129) Broadcast (37) Car Tools (60) Data (97) DIY (361) Fed Data (318) FOIA (198) IRE (22) Journalism (95) Local Data (379) Mapping (51) Miscellany (49) NonGov Data (30) Online (16) Paper Trail (653) Public Records (78) Python (25) Social Network Analysis (2) State Data (524) XML (34) September 2005 M T W T F S S « Aug Oct » 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 « Peoria Siren Warning System Brevard County Disaster Planning » Chicago Real Estate Prices Posted on Friday, September 16th, 2005 at 4:31 pm. Filed Under NonGov Data . Mary Umberger, Geoff Dougherty, Sharon Stangenes, John Handley and Wayne Faulkner of the Chicago Tribune used local property data from the Chicago Association of Realtors to show that “ property on the South Side and in the south suburbs is hot , with price appreciation in the year ended June 30 exceeding the 10-year average annual price growth in many metro neighborhoods and towns. At the same time, however, one-fourth of 319 Chicago-area communities saw home appreciation drop below their 10-year annual averages.” No responses to 'Chicago Real Estate Prices'. RSS feed for comments and Trackback URI for 'Chicago Real Estate Prices'. Leave a Comment Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Choose from Full RSS or comments RSS feeds. XHTML sometimes validates, whilst CSS should also validate. -- The Scoop is powered by WordPress 1.5.1.3 and delivered to you in 0.711 seconds. Design by Matthew . Administrator login and new user registration .
real estate broker too
Feds probe real estate agents - Apr. 22, 2005 Web CNN/Money Buying & Selling Investment Property Home Improvement Million $ Life Financing Best Places SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | SUBSCRIBE TO MONEY | Feds probe real estate agents Money magazine investigation shows Justice Dept. looking into anticompetitive practices. April 22, 2005: 5:27 PM EDT By Jon Birger, Money Magazine NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Did you pay your real estate broker too much? The U.S. Department of Justice may be set to turn Tulsa, Okla. into a test-case for ending the stranglehold 6 percent commissions have over the real estate brokerage business. MONEY has learned that Justice's Antitrust Division is gathering information on the bully tactics that full-commission brokers in Tulsa allegedly use against their discount rivals to discourage commission-cutting. The probe follows other recent efforts to spur competition in the real estate industry. According to a copy of a Justice Department subpoena obtained by MONEY, federal investigators are seeking information on "possible anticompetitive conduct in the provision of real estate services in the Tulsa area" as well as "documents related to refusal to cooperate on real estate transactions." An Antitrust Division spokeswoman confirmed the existence of the investigation but declined to provide additional details. Al Unser, executive director of the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors said: "We received a CID [civil investigative demand] from the Justice Dept. and we have responded." Economists who study real estate, such as the University of Cincinnati's Norm Miller, believe anti-competitive behavior is the primary explanation for the persistence of the 6 percent commission. J.D. Smith and Bob Meyer are two Tulsa discount real estate agents who say they were interviewed by federal investigators. They say the investigators wanted information on full-commission agents' alleged refusal to show home-buying clients properties listed by discount brokers -- a tactic known as boycotting. Boycotting exploits the one major weakness of the multiple listing service. The MLS's upside is that it centralizes all homes for sale in a single electronic marketplace that can be accessed by all agents -- and these days by Web-savvy consumers as well. The downside is that brokers must depend on one another to help sell their homes, and that discourages them from undercutting each other's commissions. While boycotting the listings of discounters is generally considered an antitrust violation -- if undisclosed, it's also a breach of fiduciary duty to clients -- industry insiders are well aware that boycotting goes on, even if they claim not to condone it. For Smith, the Feds' investigation comes a year or so too late. His realty business on the brink of ruin, Smith recently abandoned discount brokerage and went back to charging 6 percent. "In one week," Smith said, "I've had more showings and more offers from other realtors than I had in the previous two months." The Tulsa investigation is part of an ongoing Antitrust Division foray into the sharp-elbowed realty world. In March, the Antitrust Division sued the Kentucky Real Estate Commission over a state law that prohibits real estate brokers from offering commission rebates to consumers. More recently, Assistant Attorney General R. Hewitt Pate sent letters to lawmakers and regulators in Oklahoma and Texas, urging them to reject proposals that would effectively prohibit brokers from engaging in limited-service or fee-for-service realty -- such as listing a home for sale on the multiple listing service for a flat fee of $500. Bruce Hahn, chairman of the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, argues that state prohibitions on rebates and fee-for-service discourage competition and inflate commissions paid by consumers. "We've talked to Justice, and we think what they're doing is tremendous," he said. E-mail Jon Birger at jbirger@moneymail.com. The Hot List Most profitable renovations How risky is your 401(k)? Big new tax credits for hybrid cars More Real Estate How to buy and build on rural land Most overvalued housing markets When booms go bust... contact us | magazine customer service | site map | glossary | RSS | press room OTHER NEWS: CNN | SI | Fortune | Business2.0 = Money subscribers = Premium content -- * - Time reflects local markets trading time. † - Intraday data is at least 15-minutes delayed. Disclaimer © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms under which this service is provided to you. privacy policy Reprints of site stories are available. Top Stories Most overvalued housing markets Risks to the economy in 2006 Which was the worst ad of all in 2005? After the ride, a rest Hilton brands reunite after 40 years YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Real Estate Antitrust Division Corporate Governance Oklahoma or Create your own Manage alerts | What is this?