January 20, 2010 4:00 PM
The American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance hailed the repeal of New Jersey's state law prohibiting real estate brokers and agents from providing commission rebates to home buyers. State real estate associations have also managed to pass similar laws in other states in recent years, despite the opposition of the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and many other consumer advocacy organizations. The legislation became effective with Governor Jon Corzine's signature of the legislation (A-373 and S-139) on January 17, 2010.
The legislation will allow New Jersey real estate consumers to receive real estate commission rebates from real estate brokers and/or agents. As mortgage lending standards have tightened, leading to higher down payment requirements, those rebates have become increasingly important in facilitating home sales. Commission rebates, which can amount to as much as 2% of a home's selling price, may enable a home sale that would otherwise not be possible, especially for low and moderate income buyers. As a result, real estate commission rebates are becoming increasingly popular in states where real estate trade groups haven't passed similar protectionist legislation.
"We believe that the repeal of this bill will increase the pool of buyers and help to slow future declines in New Jersey home values, " said AHGA President Bruce Hahn. It's particularly helpful in states like New Jersey where the economy is tough and many buyers have difficulty scraping up a down payment. "We're delighted at this positive step, and hope it signals a trend towards removing similar barriers to competition in other states," Hahn added.
January 13, 2010 1:29 PM
The importance of an open Internet to economic opportunities and the wellbeing of homeowners and other consumers grows every day. It is important for commerce, education, healthcare, and provides many other opportunities, such as the ability to work from home. Homeowners are fortunate in that the Federal Communications Commission has done a very good job of assuring that the providers of the networks used by consumers to access the Internet continue to be open and neutral.
The way in which we access the Internet is also changing. The four principles of network neutrality, which guide the FCC's efforts to preserve an open Internet, were written at a time when most of us accessed the Internet from our homes or offices. Today mobile access is becoming much more important, and the FCC is modifying its rules to address this new environment. The American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance supports that exercise. In our January 14 FCC submission we thanked the commission for their commendable performance and urged a similar approach to the new environment and the issues that arise from it.
We also urged the FCC to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to address some serious antitrust challenges that are outside of the scope of the current inquiry. The nation's national online network of homes for sale has faced repeated efforts to deny home sellers the services of discount real estate brokers who provide sales assistance at a fraction of the typical 5-6% real estate commission. Currently about 90% of home buyers search for homes on that consumer-facing online network, so it's imperative for home sellers to get exposure on that network. If they are denied access to that network because they prefer to use a discount real estate broker, an owner of a $200,000 home might be forced to pay a $10,000 - 12,000 real estate commission instead of a few hundred dollars a discount broker would charge.
The Federal Trade Commission has taken the lead on addressing this challenge and has initiated efforts to stop the efforts of numerous local Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) across the country who have sought to limit home sellers access to their networks through discount brokerage services. The FTC has been successful in the ongoing series of cases, although one MLS is now appealing the initial FTC finding against it.
Federal competition laws or regulations must be strengthened in order to more effectively discourage dominant private Internet commerce networks and search firms from engaging in such actions. In our comments AHGA urged the FCC to support such changes.
