From customer protection to the basic foundations of the real estate economy, a major brokerage’s move to grow its off-market listing business could have a big impact on the Massachusetts housing market.
Industry leaders are hoping for the best but bracing for the worst, and say it could take years to sort out real estate agent compensation issues as new rules take effect this week.
Federal antitrust prosecutors have asked the judge overseeing a lawsuit against Massachusetts’ main multiple-listings service to reject a proposed settlement in the case, arguing instead that buyers should be the only ones to pay their agents’ commissions.
Associations, brokers, agents and MLS leaders shouldn’t assume that defendants in the commission lawsuits can win on appeal – and that agent commissions will go down in the lawsuits’ wake.
A new report by researchers at investment firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods is warning that the real estate industry could be upended by a trio of lawsuits over agent commissions, including one involving Massachusetts’ main multiple listings service.
A federal judge has given her preliminary approval to a deal that would settle a lawsuit between three local home sellers and the state’s largest multiple listings service, MLS PIN.
A settlement in a class action lawsuit against Massachusetts’ main residential real estate listings service has been proposed, leaving it off the hook as plaintiffs continue their battle against several large, national brokerages.
New data from real estate data firm Black Knight shows that Boston-area residents are still raring to jump into the housing market, despite huge shortages in housing inventory and record-high prices.
Many market observers believe Massachusetts is headed for another spring of multiple offers and waived contingencies, thanks to how still-high interest rates have stabilized in recent weeks.
If you wanted to buy or sell a home in Greater Boston before the summer of 1955, you were in for a struggle, “hot-footing it from one broker to another.”
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that the Department of Justice wants to force buyers to pay their own commissions. How would the real estate industry change?
The main multiple listings service for Massachusetts announced it has chosen a new leader to replace retiring President and CEO Kathy Condon.
Users of the state’s largest MLS website now have a new tool at their disposal for real estate agents marketing apartments for rent.
As home sales have soared, off-market listings – on the rise before the pandemic – have continued unabated, despite the National Association of Realtors’ approval last November of a Clear Cooperation Policy and a near-guarantee of bidding wars for MLS-listed houses.
MLS PIN, the largest multiple-listings service in Massachusetts, has relaunched its website to better support agents accessing it via mobile devices, combining the move with rebranding itself as “wicked smart.”
Massachusetts’ twin public health and economic crises are starting to slow the region’s housing market, as sellers appear to be looking to wait out both.
New home listings in Massachusetts dropped over 11 percent year-over-year in March, according to data provided to Banker & Tradesman by the state’s largest multiple listings service.
State officials updated their guidance for real estate agents last week, clarifying what is – and isn’t – allowed under Gov. Charlie Baker’s order that all “non-essential” businesses must close their physical doors for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, as we head into 2020, it looks like the pocket listings trend is accelerating, hurting nearly everyone in the real estate industry.
An influential group of multiple listings service operators from around the country warn “the multiple listing service as we know it is in jeopardy,” but many Massachusetts real estate agents aren’t so sure.
