It would seem that The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is being dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age. A federal court in Chicago denied the NAR's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it by the U.S. Department of justice which alleges that the NAR tried to hamstring web-based real-estate agents. The NAR wants all realtors to charge the standard 6% fee, even if all they do is host a web site and show a few pictures. The DOJ, rightly so, says that companies with reduced overhead should be able to charge lower fees. Makes sense to me. If the benefits of the digital age result in lower costs, why shouldn't those savings be passed on to the consumer. It would also lead to increased ad revenues for on-line property sales sites.
So, I sold the Maharaja's palace, and bought a new Roller!
