TORONTO - Canada's competition watchdog and the Canadian Real Estate Association reached an agreement in principle Thursday that would ensure consumers have access to a range of services from their real estate agents.
The Competition Bureau said Monday that CREA has agreed to get rid of "anti-competitive" rules that discriminate against real estate agents who enter deals with consumers to simply list a property on its Multiple Listing Service.
"If ratified, the agreement will ensure that consumers have the ability to choose which services they want from a real estate agent when selling their home, and to pay for only those services," said Melanie Aitken, the commissioner of competition.
"It also provides much-needed flexibility for real estate agents by ensuring that they have the ability to offer the variety of services and prices that meet the needs of consumers."
The Competition Bureau filed an application with the Competition Tribunal in February seeking to strike down CREA's rules regarding the MLS, which it said restricted the ability to conduct real estate transactions without an agent.
Negotiations came to a standstill this spring, and the bureau said only a legally binding agreement would be acceptable.
"Since challenging CREA's rules, the bureau's goal has always been to achieve a long-term solution that would strengthen competition in the residential real estate brokerage services market," Aitken said.
"This resolution, if ratified by CREA's membership, achieves this goal."
The application followed three years of discussions with CREA about its rules. The Bureau agreed to resume negotiations in September after being approached by CREA's representatives.
The agreement has been approved by its board of directors, but still has to be ratified by CREA's members, some 90,000 realtors. A special meeting has been scheduled for Oct. 24 in St. John's, N.L.
CREA President Georges Pahud said the agreement is the result of extensive negotiations.
"Both sides gained a better understanding of their respective concerns through our discussions. We are pleased that a resolution has been reached, subject to member approval," he said in a statement late Thursday.
But CREA maintained that its MLS rules did not prevent or restrict a broad range of business models.
CREA loosened its rules in March to lift restrictions on realtors, but the bureau rejected the move, saying it did not go far enough.
The bureau took issue with a clause in the amendments that says the changes are subject to the rules of local real estate boards. If ratified the agreement will be legally binding and will remain in effect for 10 years.
