Hi Kristi, I hadn't seen that post at the time I wrote this post. But I don't  see any conflict as yet. It goes into more detail and although I remembered the revisions in the VOW propeosal at the time, I certainly wouldn't want to be quoting it, not knowing if there were more recent revisinons since I saw them. Hopefully that would explain any conflict in what you are seeing.

Thanks you for coming by and I am sure we will all be hearing more and more about this in the coming weeks.

Hi Teri, It is hard to remember not to preach to the choir. LOL. The point I didn't make very well is that Sellers use the internet far less for real estate than buyers so they are not always aware of the capabilities of the agent they hire. Since most agents only have a static web site that is mostly useless, they couldn't be all that internet savvy and know to post the listings in the many sites that could afford the best exposure.

Hi Dean, my perspective , though I didn't make it very clear was that sellers should also be taking advantage of agents that are internet savvy to market their listings. Sellers spend less time looking at real estate on line to know how does the market job of exposing the listed properties.  At least it seems to be the case here in San Diego.

Hi Lenn, We should do lunch. What a fun and wonderful time I had with you today going through all the variety subjects we covered. You are totally delightful and knowable and it sure provides so much insight into our careers. You are one fabulous lady!

Thanks you so much for seeing this post the minute I put it up. Did you happen to see any conflict between the post and the news. I couldn't find it.

Anyway, your insight on the VOW's is one that people should take heed of and watch for. I would expect that there will be be some conflicts. As you know the ways the rules work, is that NAR sets the model rules, the states adopt with amendments and the corresponding MLS's then can adopt. The conflicts will then show up at the local level.

The original dispute that ultimately lead to the lawsuit was after the policy was approved but well before the policy would go into effect. I would believe that policy will soon be re-stated and we can all become acquainted ( re-acquainted) with what the policy is and how it is to be implemented.

Looking forward to our next conversation. Let's plan it. We could do a picnic lunch in each area, and have a wonderful " Let's Do Lunch" type of virtual meeting.

Thanks Mitchell, always appreciate the insight. But I will add that VOW's are here to stay and we will most likely more of them coming on line. But as you say, the viral marketing approach may will be the better of the competitors.

Hi Joan, that is a great visual that can also be useful for the seller to go and see how their listing compares with others that are similar. Good idea and everything helps, especially if thay are not familiar with the site. Well done Joan.

Hi Andrew, an excellent perception. With more and more REALTORS blogging and submitting their own listings through their own respective sites and the myriad of others, they are beginning to compete with the aggregator sites and are generating their own leads. As more and more REALTORS enter and win that battle, it helps to disencentivise the aggregators if more and more do not need or want to buy those leads. SEO may actually be the new leveler in the equation.

Good Morning Lynda, Thanks you so much for appreciating this post and finding something useful that you can use with your clients. I am still a newbie when it comes to really learning all the different things we can do to really make a difference. Thankfully I am a work in progress, the operative word being " progress".

Hi Jason, Thank you so very much. WOW, those were some comments my friend. Here, I have been frustrated that my writing is all over the boards and not centered. My mind wants to go in so many different directions. It seems there is just too much out there to be able to connect it all together. My intended focus was to concentrate on Localism with market reports, listing displays and I seem to be everywhere but there. I have always liked the word "eclectic" and maybe I should see that it might be the defining difference for me. Thanks you for calling this out in this way.

Hello Ron, Thanks for dropping by and sharing your perspective and your questions.

To reframe your first statement, if it were me, I would change the words" discount internet brokers" to Virtual Real Estate Brokerage".

With listings placed in so many locations on the internet, consumers have many choices today from where to get information. You and your brokerage may be one of them.

IMHO, most real estate is relationship based. Consumers are free  to choose with whom they create  a relationship.

As to your last question, if it were me, I would consult with your own brokerage in answering that question.

Hello Paula, Thanks for your question. The answer to your question in exact terms will be made clear in a short time. The lawsuit is over and that is good news. How the agreement will ulitmeatly manifest itself is to be seen. NAR will be putting out statements shortly and your state and local association and MLS will have more for you as they begin the process of sorting out the details. I haven't personnaly seen the agreement and it would be difficult for me to speculate on that.

Hello Larry, There are many business models in play in the real estate profession, just as there are in many other industries. For instance , there are stock brokerages that charge their clients one way and there are other less costly services available for those that may seek those out. Consumers have many choices and for quite some time they have had those choices. As I mentioned in some previous comments, IMHO, real estate is relationship based and actually quite local. I don't see that as changing much for the consumer and the biggest financial decisions they make in their lives.

Hi Paula, On your second entry, you said "I guess I have never heard of internet based agents". Yes, there are a number of Virtual Real Estate Brokerages. If you haven't heard of them, chances are they have had little or no impact at all on your business.

Hi David, Thanks for dropping by. Time will tell and I am sure over time, it will be very interesting to see how all this is manifested into the real estate practice. Now that real estate is forced ahead in the technology curve, isn't it amazing how many resources are available to all who are willing to partake of them. With change, there is always some resistance to it. The real estate profession is rapidly changing and with it, new opportunities are available to everyone. Some will seize them and others will ignore them.

Hi Larry, The only error of crossing the line for a buyer's agent is if they fail to clearly remind the seller in writing that they only represent the buyer. As to the half of that question, it is up to the respective departments of real estate to determine that.

Hi Tony and Darcy, NAR does not own the MLS information. Your brokerage through membership in the local or regional MLS , gives permission to REALTOR.com to present and distribute it. NAR owns 4% of the financial interest in REALTOR.com.

As a member of NAR, you voluntarily agree to the higher standards of practice and are provided tools to implement them in your practice. You subscribe to a stringent set of standards of practice contained  in the REALTOR Code of Ethics. Your membership is voluntary up to the point of where you choose to work. If your Brokerage is a member, you must be a member as you are tied to your Brokers choice in being a member or not.

None of this is mandated. Just like consumers, we all have many choices and it sounds like you may want to review some of the choices you have made.

Hi Eric, Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Hello Jon, you have expressed a most interesting perspective. Thank you for coming by and sharing it.

Hi Larry, that is not what the antitrust unit of the Department of Justice does :-)

Dear Paula, a fair assumption.

Hello Joe, I am sure it will become available soon.

Hi Susie, ActiveRain does provide so much doesn't it? It is an awesome resource and opportunity. I always appreciate your insight.

Christine, thanks for dropping by. It is indeed!

Hi Maureen, as all the information comes to light, all of us will get the reminders. The pursuit of real estate goes on. Thanks for dropping by.

Hi Neal, your comments are a good reminder. Thank you for sharing that valuable insight.

Hi Sally and David, for sure! e-PROs rock!

Hi Leolinda, You do not have to belong to NAR to be a member of the local MLS and to input at listing.

Hey Sam, there certainly is that possibility. We shall see.

Hi Kathy, I am so glad it is over. What happens next we shall all see. In the meantime, we all have work to do. Your head is in the right place.

Hello Lawrence, thank you so much for the links, normally I don't put links in the comments but these times may require exceptions to the rule. Thanks for dropping by and sharing.

Jim, you bet! And I think we are the lucky ones that are ahead of the curve.

Patricia, these are great questions for you and your broker to discuss. They are simply not an area for discussion that I would consider myself expert in. The answers may have legal implications and I am not a lawyer. But I do appreciate you sharing them with us as others likely have the same question. Thanks for dropping by.

Hi Lenn, Me Too! And you are so right. Whatever the local associations/MLS do to impliment the new policy, we each only have to answer to the rules of which we have each agreed to abide by our membership in that respective organization. Great reponse and I am sure glad you offered it here for others to see and take advantage of your sage wisdom.

Hi Larry, Thanks for clarifying that. I do understand your point.

Mitchell, Though it is hard to imagine,as many changes exist today that 5 years ago would have been unimaginable, we are in flux and it will be quite some time before the dust settles and a new direction for the real estate transaction transforms.

I see possibilities and yet would have no way to predict what that day in future looks like. Perhaps a hybrid version of the way business is conducted to today. The online transaction may in fact be the future. With the advent of our RELAY system for the on-line transaction, electronic signatures, the future could be some form of what we couldn't even fathom today. Yet, visionaries will tell you that we will have just such a system within a few short years and maybe even sooner.

The best way to handle all of the this as Howard Brinton would say is to " Get out of judgment and into curiosity". The future is yours, seize it.

Hi Megan, it does make perfect sense. With the advent of the internet, all generations could think of the internet empowerment as having a perfect filing cabinet delivered to your home with essentially everything in the world condensed to a tiny file. It awaits your discovery of it.

Notary, That it has!

Lonn, You aren't missing anything and I think you have it close to right. The new business models ( middlemen) are what we as an industry must learn to wean ourselves from if their valuable service ( pun intended) is expected to ever be minimized. If agents buy from them, they see the value. Teach the agent to fish better and there is no more need.

What we are doing with our efforts in localism and SEO optimization,work directly against the middle man, which is where he started out. The information and the better, the more we attract back the consumer.

SEO just because there is an unfavorable business model out there should not scare us away. It should encourage us to do it better and we will.

Hello Stephen, I can attest to what you are saying. Sometimes the costs are not just money but in many ways a sense of fair play. With RESPA that governed how you could compensate or remunerate someone else almost silent on this 3rd party referral stuff is amazing. You might find it interesting to do a little research and understand who and how RESPA came about. If you knew the story behind it, you might better understand how today the 3rd party aggregators capitalize on our system. If compensations are too high, that is an argument that others can argue. But at least for the number of years I have been involved and I have seen testimony for many decades prior, the REALTORS brought forth substantive change and protect as the Trustees of the land , the rights of private property owners. They work and are involved in the communities from which they come. Some remarkable even amazing efforts have been contributed. The 3rd party aggregators contribute NOTHING. They simply take from the system. Yet they are rewarded as having a right. It is hard to fathom something so unfair but life is NOT necessarily fair. It is driven by money and power and that goes where it will. Like a screw to a magnet. And if you can visualize that, visualize now a piece of ugly scrap metal and the magnet and you will see that the screw is greatly overshadowed. What sticks is not always pretty.

Hi Stephen, Thanks for dropping by and sharing your great insight here. Contradiction does seem to be the rule today, doesn't it? But the best way to fully appreciate it is to " follow the money".

Dean, From the perspective of Google Juice, that may be true. But until I get that Google Juice , at least with the sign rider of the site web address, I have received dozens of calls or inquires including listings, informed calls directly from the site. Unless I am missing something, and would get that activity anyway if there were no property website,  then It would seem that this is yet another arrow in the quiver of marketing tools. Direct sales from the unique property site. Yes, and I think it is useful to have it all. I certainly have no empirical evidence to the contrary but certainly appreciate your thoughts on the subject.