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During Thursday’s heated debate, opposing positions on a clear cooperation policy emerged.
Meanwhile, The Agency CEO Mauricio Umansky argued that real estate professionals would share their properties extensively if given the opportunity.
“I would say 95 percent of the people in this room right now want to share their list with everyone,” Umansky said. “They want to do the best job for the seller.”
Meanwhile, NextHome CEO James Dwiggins insisted the company would take the listing private if given the chance.
“You’re going to see some brokerages try to spin the conversation around the idea that it’s better to try everything from the MLS first,” Dwiggins said, adding a little later that “every company will follow the same path.”
The two leaders met on stage at Inman Connect New York on Thursday to discuss one of the real estate industry’s most polarizing issues. National Association of Realtors regulations, also known as CCP, require real estate agents to submit listings to NAR-affiliated multiple listing services within one day of marketing. Over the past six months, this has become one of the most controversial topics in the industry.
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Mr. Umansky and Mr. Dwiggins have been among the most outspoken voices on the issue, with Mr. Umansky pushing for repeal of the rule and Mr. Dwiggins supporting it. They gathered on stage for a session explicitly billed as a debate between competing experts, unusual for a real estate conference.
Following remarks from host and Inman founder Brad Inman, Mr. Dwiggins kicked things off by asserting that Clear Collaboration is the foundation of the unique real estate market that exists in the United States.
“We’ve spent the past 30 years building the world’s largest marketplace where you can go to the MLS and our website and find just about any home for sale,” Dwiggins said. He spoke while comparing Japan and the United States. The past and foreign countries. In both cases, the properties are spread across various brokerage websites.
Dwiggins said that homes sell for more when sold on the MLS, that steering is easier in an off-market environment, and that once consumers understand how the system works, they can list their properties themselves. claimed to want.
“Put the customer first,” Dwiggins said near the end of the debate.
But Umansky was not convinced. He said Clear Collaboration was actually “created to stop competition” and force agents to work with existing MLSs. He also said that while homes in general can sell for more on the MLS, there is enough talent in this data to get better results with atypical marketing strategies, such as not listing on the MLS. He also said that the skills of some agents were not taken into account.
“Right now, we can say without a doubt that not every home will sell for more money on the MLS,” Umansky said, before adding, “What I’m talking about is creating a free market. “to be allowed,” he added.
From left to right, moderators Brad Inman, Mauricio Umanski, and James Dwiggins at Thursday’s Inman Connect New York. Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
The conversation got intense at times. At one point, Brad Inman tried to take questions from the audience “to let the gas out here,” but Umansky interrupted with a comment before any questions could come. conversation.
At issue appears to be a fundamental difference in the nature of real estate agents. In Umansky’s view, the agents have “integrity and good ethics” and “are not acting solely to serve their own interests.” His point was that if Clear Coordination disappeared, it would lead to more innovation, creativity, and free market behavior. Mr. Umansky seemed to be saying that the end of the Chinese Communist Party would not result in anything being lost, but would unshackle the real estate industry.
“What I’m saying is that we have the right to freedom of choice and freedom to compete,” Umansky said. “And that is being suppressed by the presence of the Chinese Communist Party.”
However, Dwiggins took a view that could be called a pragmatist. His point was that without a clear cooperation policy, brokerages would try to persuade sellers to keep property information private. They will begin to experiment with more double-end trades and see the end of the rule as a “way to increase stock prices.” And once the process starts, everyone will have to follow it, he added.
“The problem that people don’t understand is that they’re not the only ones doing it,” Dwiggins said. “I think any other company would do the same.”
Dwiggins predicted this would lead to “massive consolidation” as agents rush to get into the largest number of public companies.
Thursday’s debate highlighted a clear breakdown in the front on cooperation, but of course the issue is unlikely to be fully resolved. In addition to Mr. Umansky and Mr. Dwiggins, many other real estate interests have taken positions on the subject, but there is no clear consensus.
For example, Compass CEO Robert Refkin is leading the charge to eliminate the rule, Howard Hanna CEO Hobie Hanna, Coldwell Banker Super Agent, Others, such as Gary Gold, have more or less supported that position. However, eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja and Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman support keeping the rules in place.
At the beginning of Thursday’s debate, Connect audience members had the opportunity to take a telephone-based poll on the issue. More than 60% of the audience expressed support for keeping the rules, while 27% wanted them repealed. However, Brad Inman said a less formal audience survey during a previous Inman event in Austin, Texas, revealed a completely different result.
The unofficial polls, the positions of various executives and the intensity of Thursday’s debate all highlight that clear cooperation continues to divide the real estate industry.
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