Suddenly Bill Powers, COO of Realty Executives, finds himself to be the go-to pundit for media covering the investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) into NAR's online policies. During the NAR's mid-year governance meetings last week, CNN and USA Today both tapped Powers to be the counterpoint to the media's position that NAR is in the wrong to fashion an online listings policy for MLS subscribers.

"We have plenty more education to get through to the people that this issue is not about fees," says Powers. "It's about data rules."

Calling the DOJ's investigation into the NAR's virtual office Website (VOW) policy "misguided," Powers maintains that the real estate industry is "one of most competitive as well as being the most cooperative" of industries.

"What other industry shares its data to help the consumer with other competitors?" asks Powers rhetorically. "We have IDX (Internet Data Display), and we can put some of the information onto the Web and give that to consumers. That's a plus, but there is a lot of information that has no business being on the Web."

"We have no rules, and we have been trying to come up with [something] that doesn't stifle but increases competition, maintains a level of security, and offers consumers choices," he says.

Powers complains that the media spin is that somehow real estate data should be in the public domain, and that consumers are being prevented from having choice.

"It's preposterous that a USA Today reporter would have to share his notes and stories with all his competitors," suggests Powers. "He should imagine that when he hits the submit button to his editor that it also goes out to the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and all his other competitors. And that when they post his story, he has to pay them for advertising his story!"

While the publishing industry has copyright laws preventing the illegal republication of intellectual content, the real estate industry has no such provisions, says Powers.

"You have to have rules," he maintains. "This is not a fee deal - that's the way it's being spun. We've had discount brokers for decades. The VOW and IDX rules have nothing to do with fees. The only ones who should be discussing fees are the broker and his client."

Powers continues with a spirited defense of the National Association of Realtors. "The 1.1 million Realtors who are members of the NAR include a lot of discount brokers," explains Powers. "NAR has never asked me what my fees are, and it's none of their damn business. The fee is decided by the consumer and the broker at the time they list the house, and market forces play a huge role. Fees have been dropping, and critics say, 'What about the appreciation? You are getting paid more money.' In boom markets there tends to be downward pressure on fees. As soon as the market corrects itself, and it will, pressure on fees will subside, because houses will be harder to sell."

"The NAR doesn't want to touch fees! If NAR was so anticompetitive, the '100 percent' concept would have been railroaded out of town. Now 40 percent of brokerages have it. I'm sure when Dale Rector (Realty Executives founder) and Dave Liniger (RE/MAX founder) got started - they didn't get grief from NAR - they got it from other brokers.

"When these guys and gals (discounters, third-party referrers) are losing and misleading the public by spinning this as a big industry attempt to squash new ideas, nothing could be further from the truth. They have been welcomed - that's what NAR is about, but NAR's idea is that everyone plays by the same set of rules."

Published: May 18, 2005

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.