Houston local Kara Biggs recently bought a home with REX, which charges home sellers a 2 percent fee instead of the traditional 6 percent fee. REX can offer sellers that fee by declining to pay the buyer’s agent. Buyers have the option of having a salaried REX agent guide them through the transaction for free or paying for an outside agent themselves. Not making the buyer’s agent an offer also means that the listing cannot be advertised on multiple listing services, such as HAR.com and Realtor.com. REX’s homes can only be advertised directly to customers or on websites such as Zillow and Trulia, which only receive part of their listings from multiple listing services.
Jonathan Friedland, the company’s head of communications, said such restrictions are worth it in order to offer lower fees.
“If you’re in the (Multiple Listing Service) you’re bound to live within these rules. That’s what makes the MLS so problematic for anyone who is really trying to innovate in the industry,” he said. “If you don’t abide by some of these rules, you are kicked out.”
Read the full article: Class-action case could upend residential real estate brokerage business (Houston Chronicle)
