Recently the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) board of directors decided in a special meeting to recommend allowing realtor.com® to more effectively compete against third-party aggregators by lifting some long-standing restrictions. Since the vote, brokers and agents have been wondering just what the changes will mean and how they will impact their business. At a time when change is coming at ‘internet speed’, the smart broker will rely on the skills and knowledge of his team to keep pace.
NAR’s board recommended several changes to the operating agreement between NAR’s wholly owned subsidiary Realtors® Information Network and RealSelect, which operates realtor.com®. These changes are intended to enable the site to compete more effectively in today’s rapidly evolving market. These changes include:
• Allowing the display of unlisted new homes and new-home communities
• Displaying unlisted rentals
• Obtaining listings from entities that are not REALTOR®-owned and controlled, as well as from brokers who are not REALTORS®
• Identifying auctions of distressed properties, short sales, foreclosures, bank-owned properties, and properties where a notice of default has been recorded with an opt-out for listing agents who object
Individual consumer FSBOs will not appear, and REALTOR® and non-REALTOR® listings will be clearly distinguished and the value of using a REALTOR® emphasized.
