Canadian Realtors Settle Dispute

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After years of negotiations and threats, the Canadian Real Estate Association has dramatically reworked its policies to settle anti-competition charges.

Under the new bylaws, sellers will be able to pay a broker a flat fee to list their homes on the MLS. The new rules also allow brokers using the MLS to offer clients an array of for-fee services, essentially paving the way for discount brokers.


"This resolution is welcome news for both consumers and real estate agents in Canada," said Melanie Aitken the Commissioner of Competition. "For Canadian homeowners, it ensures that they will have the freedom to choose which services they want from a real estate agent and to pay for only those services. For real estate agents, it ensures that they will be able to offer the variety of services and prices that meet the needs of consumers."

But not everyone was satisfied with the decision. "CREA cartel not broken yet," read a headline in the Calgary Herald.

"The deal leaves much of CREA's control intact," the Herald argued. "Access to the MLS is still restricted. There also remains a two-agent system that leaves the conflicted role of the so-called 'buyer's' or 'co-operating' agent unresolved."

But the agreement addresses the most contentious aspect of the dispute--the ability for brokers offering different plans to access the MLS.

"We are pleased with the agreement," CREA president Georges Pahud said. "It allows realtors to go back and do what they do best and that is helping Canadians."

Shortly after the decision, Lawrence Dale, the critic who spurred the anti-competition investigation, announced he was restarting his discount brokerage, which he charged was driven out of business by CREA's old policies.

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