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Today on Real Estate Backstage, social media is flooded with reports of a housing market crash in Washington, DC, but the data paints a different picture … The DOJ gets involved in REX’s lawsuit against Zillow … Phoenix REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS® have come to an agreement that brings the local Association back into compliance with NAR’s bylaws … Ron Desantis wants to eliminate property taxes in the State of Florida … and a recent study found that sellers who didn’t list their properties in the MLS left about $5,000 on the table on average.
REX vs Zillow Case May Be Escalated to Appeals Court
According to Real Estate News:
“Citing concerns that future trade associations could circumvent antitrust rules, the Department of Justice asked a U.S. Court of Appeals to set aside a lower court ruling related to NAR’s “no-commingling” policy — a rule prohibiting real estate sites that use IDX feeds from displaying MLS listings alongside non-MLS listings.
Speaking to a panel of Ninth Circuit judges in Honolulu on Feb. 13, DOJ attorney Alice Wang argued in favor of vacating a 2023 jury decision involving Zillow, the defendant in the case, and the low-fee brokerage Real Estate Exchange (REX). NAR was originally a defendant as well but was dropped in 2023.”
(Source: RealEstateNews.com)
NAR and Phoenix REALTORS® Reach an Agreement
According to RISMedia:
“The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) today announced it reached a resolution with Phoenix REALTORS® that brings the local association back into compliance with NAR’s Constitution and Bylaws, allowing the local association to retain its charter. The two groups had been embroiled in a nasty dispute starting late last year regarding whether Phoenix REALTORS® members must stay with NAR in order to access MLS listings, with lawsuits threatened on both sides.
Phoenix REALTORS® eliminated its ‘MLS Choice’ membership option but will continue to offer non-REALTORS® access to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) as it has done since 1996. In addition, Phoenix REALTORS® will provide certain products and services to non-REALTOR® licensees who purchase non-member MLS Access.
Phoenix REALTORS® emphasizes that non-member MLS Access is not a membership of any kind and licensees who purchase non-member MLS Access are not REALTORS®, may not use the REALTOR® mark, and would not belong to local, state or national REALTOR® associations, or have access to the many benefits of REALTOR® membership.
The legal skirmish began December 18 when NAR said it was taking ‘necessary action’ to defend its three-way agreement that requires agents to join local, state and national associations, and to enforce the NAR constitution and bylaws. That action included sending a cease and desist letter to Phoenix REALTORS®, saying that their new MLS Choice ‘purports to allow real estate licensees to become members of Phoenix REALTORS® without becoming a member of the Arizona Association of REALTORS® or NAR.’
The matter was never about MLS access, according to NAR, and NAR said its policy on this has not changed. Phoenix REALTORS® ARMLS is and has long been open to non-REALTORS®. MLSs have local discretion to determine individual participation requirements based on their market and applicable law.
In a statement forwarded to RISMedia, NAR said that ‘We are pleased to have reached this resolution, which protects the rigorous standards of the REALTOR® brand. We look forward to continuing to work with Phoenix REALTORS® in service of REALTORS® and our shared mission.
Phoenix REALTORS® additionally issued the following statement:
‘After working together productively, Phoenix REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS® have reached a mutually beneficial agreement that ensures Phoenix REALTORS®’ non-member offering complies with NAR’s constitution, bylaws and the three-way agreement.’
Following NAR’s December 2024 cease-and-desist letter to Phoenix REALTORS® about MLS Choice, NAR initiated its charter revocation process, citing concerns that the offering conferred local association membership, caused confusion for consumers and weakened the REALTOR® brand. To address these concerns, Phoenix REALTORS® and NAR worked together to clarify the marketing around MLS Choice and introduce an updated offering. The updated offering is known as ‘non-member MLS access,’ which will eliminate any further confusion and make clear what the subscription option entails.”
(Source: RISMedia.com)
Ron Desantis Wants to Eliminate Property Taxes in Florida
According to HousingWire:
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he wants to eliminate property taxes in the state. In a post on X, the governor said that taxing land/property “is the more oppressive and ineffective” form of taxation.
‘Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them… We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%’ …
Though Florida’s statewide budget mostly comes from the sales tax, property taxes fund critical services like police, fire and schools …
According to CoreLogic data, the median 2024 property tax in Florida was $3,101, a 9.5% increase over the prior year and up 47.5% from 2019. Property taxes have skyrocketed in South Florida in particular. Median property tax payments in Miami-Dade County have risen 56.8% since 2019, and they’ve jumped 56.8% in neighboring Broward County. Home-price appreciation over that period has been 58.9% and 59.9%, respectively.
Broward experienced an 11.4% year-over-year jump in median property taxes last year and Miami-Dade’s rose by 9.9%.
Nationally, the highest effective property tax rates in 2023 were in Northeast and Midwest states, led by Illinois (1.88%), New Jersey (1.64%), Connecticut (1.54%), New York (1.46%) and Nebraska (1.46%), ATTOM reported.
Northeast states had seven of the 10 highest average property taxes in 2023, Attom reported. New Jersey led the way at $9,488.”
(Source: HousingWire.com)
Zillow Studies the Outcome of Off-MLS Listings
According to Real Estate News:
“A new study from Zillow has found that off-MLS sellers ‘left more than $1 billion on the table’ in 2023 and 2024. That translates to a typical loss of $4,975 per home, with losses in some areas reaching as much as $30,000.
This aligns with oft-quoted findings by Bright MLS and Drexel University, which found that homes listed through Bright sold for 18% more than homes not marketed on the MLS.
It’s also sure to add fuel to the debate over private listings and the Clear Cooperation Policy instituted by NAR in 2020.
Clear Cooperation requires publicly marketed homes to be listed on the MLS within one business day, and some leading brokerages have pushed back hard on the rule. Compass CEO Robert Reffkin has said homeowners deserve to have more control over how their homes are marketed and how information is shared. To that end, the brokerage launched a ‘3-phase marketing strategy’ in November that encourages agents to pitch sellers on Compass’ Private Exclusives channel before going to the open market.
Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman, on the other hand, has taken a firm stance against private listing networks. Most recently, he wrote in a Feb. 17 blog post that PLNs limit a home’s exposure to the market to the detriment of sellers.
‘Make no mistake, this practice is designed to benefit a participating brokerage’s own bottom line as an attempt to ‘double dip’ on commissions from both sides of the transaction within their brokerage,’ Wacksman wrote. ‘And it comes at the expense of the seller, who is parting with what is often the biggest financial investment of their lifetime and not reaping the full benefit.’
Wacksman also noted that agents are increasingly pushing clients to list on a private network. A January survey found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of the 2,000 consumers polled said their agent encouraged them to list on a PLN. That’s up from 18% five years ago.”
(Source: RealEstateNews.com)
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