CREA proposed a rule requiring any and all Exclusive Residential Listings must be placed on MLS. Vote April 2023.

Nov. 16, 2022,

TAKE PART IN THE DISCUSSION FOR AND AGAINST FULL DETAILS HERE, AND YOU CAN WRITE YOUR COMMENTS.

Poll. Your opinion is appreciated.

One note to start. One of the biggest knocks against exclusives is that information is not shared. But on ICIWorld we do share!

CREA proposed a rule requiring all Exclusive Residential Listings must be on MLS. Vote April 2023.

Nov. 16, 2022,

This new proposal may affect only eight residential listings on ICIWorld out of 30,000 exclusive opportunities.  Or is it more?

The reason? The rule would only apply to residential, not to commercial or does it?

However, does it outlaw the opportunities that we provide on ICIWorld? Such as a residential home with commercial zoning, an infill site with five homes, a home with a business office, a triplex which to us is investment, and more. 

A networking service is different from basically all other services in the real estate industry. Networking information is something that brokers do regularly to explore possibilities to do business. Take that away and you limit and restrict opportunities to do business. But networking has to be done in an appropriate manner following all guidelines, rules, codes of ethics and appropriate real estate licensing.  I should know. I too have been a Realtor since 1974 and work with brokers and salespeople daily. See testimonials and the potential to benefit the world through networking information on a shared platform that brokers have been providing since 1994 on ICIWorld. Take that networking away from brokers and it is like the real estate industry shooting itself in the foot. All these testimonials disappear because owners of properties lose their right to network in an exclusive fashion because they are forced by buyers to put it on MLS? The industry is caught up in the institutional nature of the business without truly respecting the rights of the owners of properties. It is the owners who have the rights to choose along with their chosen real estate professional.  We know MLS is good. But their are other options that work successfully depending on the circumstances.

Does the new rule only apply to signed exclusive listings or does it also apply to the networking of information, not signed listings, but opportunities where an owner says, bring me in a buy and I will pay you a commission? We network that kind of information on ICIWorld but without an address. If someone is interested to see it we put a listing agreement in place first before divulging the address, then show it and potentially sell it. Does this new rule prevent the networking of a residential opportunities without the address? Our members network FSBO information (for sale by owner) to the world without addresses. They generate interest in an opportunity, then put a listing agreement in place to show it and sell it. Are we able to network that information that we have been doing since 1994? Can a broker lose their CREA membership over this?

I know they say it does not apply to commercial but is a residential home in a commercial zoning outlawed, against the rules, one can lost their CREA membership? Read on for further discussion and there is a link that presents both sides of the argument for and against. Your opinion appreciated.

We have been networking exclusive type opportunities successfully with the public and the organized real estate industry on ICIWorld since 1994, and not one person has contacted us about this new rule. And I too am a Realtor. Not one person broker that I have talked to has been given a chance to vote and I talk to several every day. I am an assistant to hundreds of real estate brokers and salespeople on a daily basis helping them network information in a competent manner compatible with our real estate industry. 

I attended the NAR convention, and there was little discussion that I saw the rule just passed. 

All the people in the room did not even know or realize that there was a service that shares exclusive real estate opportunities, brokers to brokers, brokers to the public, such as on ICIWorld. They called them back pocket listings, far from it. 

There is a world distribution and exposure of the exclusive opportunities on a world platform operating since 1994 ICIWorld, and not one person consulted us. It is an information listing service that all brokers and salespeople in the world can provide to the public. 

To give you an idea of one domain name out of 100+ that we have registered to benefit the real estate industry see https://www.ILS.realestate www.informationlistingservice.realestate All of this is made possible because of new information technology and the ability to apply real estate networking concepts to serve the public within the guidelines of the real estate and business brokers act. This information listing service is something we have been working on since 1994 and it is compatible with our real estate industry and all the services in it. Starting out of monthly breakfast meetings at a real estate board by commercial real estate brokers and salespeople networking Have and Want information. An independent information listing service of the best interests of real estate brokers to network and to serve the public. Important because brokers are trained in consumer protection. Otherwise many owners are left to fend for themselves on the Internet. 

I believe this is an excellent reason to reconsider that vote. Know one even knew that you can be networking exclusive type information on a world wide basis. They voted to outlaw them without this knowledge and type of service. Your company could lose your membership to CREA and MLS if one salesperson had an exclusive listing. 

Owners were not consulted, only buyers. Shouldn’t the rights of property owners trump the rights of buyers? Shouldn’t the owners have the right to choose MLS or not as the situation warrants?

Getting a fair price is important. Realtors are skilled at providing comparative market analysis. 

Confidentiality can also be very important. Some people do not want 32 groups of people going through every room and closet in their house, seeing valuable contents, or having a sign on their property; security becomes an issue. How can MLS provide confidentiality simultaneously with exposure to 100+ countries? They cannot. 

But the services that real estate boards subscribe to for their members can. ICIWorld is one example where it is possible.

In many cases, there is not a signed listing in place. But it is the real estate board members who choose the services they want. They can choose MLS and most do but not in all cases. In our opinion, they should also have the right to choose ILS. The ability to network information confidentially. To do it competently and professionally, we call it networking on ICIWorld. It is set up to provide this to real estate boards. It works hand in hand with MLS. Every listing on MLS is a piece of information first; then, a listing is signed to put on MLS. When a Realtor talks to an owner and says I want to sell my property next month, when that Realtor attends an office meeting, he mentions that he has a listing coming up. That is networking.  

Brokers should be allowed on ICIWorld to network information which is not a signed listing but opportunities to connect with others that have interest, put them on a list and when the listing is signed and available to everyone then show the property.

This Is freedom of information networking now going not to be allowed? Does not the real estate owner not have the right to desire MLS or not? There are hundreds of FSBOs For Sale By Owner yet 89% are sold by Realtors because Realtors have the power of networks such as ICIWorld and MLS.  Most do, but many do prefer their sale being treated exclusively. The vote should be by all Canadian Realtors who have had a chance to hear both sides of the discussion in a respectful manner. Then vote. Otherwise the livelihoods of many will be affected. Does it mean a broker cannot sell a FSBO unless they put it on MLS? Realtors should not be looked down on as not working in the best interests of their seller as the new rule would tend to cast a shadow on. They are professionals who use comparative market analysis to come up with a fair price not a lottery price by pitting people people against each other by secretly not sharing the bidding process. 

I disagree with blind bidding but I go along with it because of the rule. In my opinion it is one of the driving forces making home prices higher than they should be. We had offers presented where everyone knew the price and some conditions and all were able to comment in the best interests of the owner. Three choices, accept, counter one, go back and try to do better and bring back your best offer tomorrow. But everyone had a range. They did not bid $600,000 above the asking price in a wild lottery market that only the rich could be involved. Then home owners don’t ever want to sell their house for less providing false hopes going forward that that was the real market. Todays market is closer to the real estate market. 

FULL DETAILS HERE, AND YOU CAN WRITE YOUR COMMENTS.