MLS/Associations

Houston MLS enters data share agreement with DFW counterpart

Transacting business across the Lone Star State just got a bit easier for Texas real estate professionals and consumers. Houston Realtors Information Service, Inc., which is perhaps better known as HAR.com, and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, Inc. (NTREIS) have entered into a data sharing agreement, according to an announcement on Tuesday.  Through this […]

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FTC lawsuit claims Zillow–Redfin rental tie-up crushes competition

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing Zillow and Redfin over their rental syndication agreement.  In a complaint filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, the FTC claims that the two firms conspired to eliminate competition in the rental listing space and that their syndication agreement — under which Zillow paid Redfin

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Estimated damages in Batton commission lawsuit come in at over $10 billion

Almost five years have passed since the original Batton homebuyer commission lawsuit was filed, and the plaintiffs are finally asking for certification of their proposed class.  Filed in U.S. District Court in Illinois, the lawsuit alleges that the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Anywhere, Keller Williams and RE/MAX all took part in a “decades-long, nationwide

Estimated damages in Batton commission lawsuit come in at over $10 billion Read More »

Estimated damages in Batton commission lawsuit come in at over $10 billion

Almost five years have passed since the original Batton homebuyer commission lawsuit was filed, and the plaintiffs are finally asking for certification of their proposed class.  Filed in U.S. District Court in Illinois, the lawsuit alleges that the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Anywhere, Keller Williams and RE/MAX all took part in a “decades-long, nationwide

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CoStar doubles down on Zillow in copyright lawsuit

In a public update on its ongoing copyright infringement legal battle with Zillow, CoStar Group is claiming that the listing portal giant is continuing to infringe on CoStar’s intellectual property by displaying CoStar owned images on its site.  Filed in late July,  CoStar’s lawsuit accuses Zillow of “rampant” copyright infringement of listing photos. The complaint

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CoStar doubles down on Zillow in copyright lawsuit

In a public update on its ongoing copyright infringement legal battle with Zillow, CoStar Group is claiming that the listing portal giant is continuing to infringe on CoStar’s intellectual property by displaying CoStar owned images on its site.  Filed in late July,  CoStar’s lawsuit accuses Zillow of “rampant” copyright infringement of listing photos. The complaint

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NAR appoints former Etihad Airways exec to lead event strategy

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is continuing to revamp its leadership team. On Friday, the trade association announced the appointment of Amanda Whitehead as its new vice president of event strategy and member engagement. “As NAR charts a new path and as part of our strategic efforts to continue to add and prove value

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De-risking the MLS: CEOs say consumer friendliness is the best line of defense

The legal teams at multiple listing services (MLS) have been getting quite the workout over the past few years, first with the commission lawsuits and more recently with lawsuits related to Realtor association membership and MLS access. Given these circumstances MLSs are naturally looking for ways to lower their legal risk portfolio, with “derisking” being

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‘It’s complicated:’ brokers talk navigating MLS relationships at CMLS

According to Craig Cheatham, the president and CEO of The Realty Alliance, if you were to assign a Facebook relationship status to the relationship between MLSs and brokers it would be “it’s complicated.”  “The MLS is at once the most valuable tool of the broker and, at the same time, it is the thing at

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Compass-Anywhere deal sparks MLS reckoning

For many in the multiple listing services (MLS) industry, Monday’s announcement that Compass was acquiring Anywhere served as a wake-up call of sorts.  Over the past year, Compass has worked to grow its stockpile of exclusive listings, but many did not consider the Robert Reffkin-helmed firm a serious threat to the MLS structure, due to

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