Boycotting exploits the one major weakness of the multiple listing service.
The MLS’s upside is that it centralizes all homes for sale in a single electronic marketplace that can be accessed by all agents — and these days by Web-savvy consumers as well.
The downside is that brokers must depend on one another to help sell their homes, and that discourages them from undercutting each other’s commissions.
While boycotting the listings of discounters is generally considered an antitrust violation — if undisclosed, it’s also a breach of buyer’s brokers’ fiduciary duty to clients — industry insiders are well aware that boycotting goes on, even if they claim not to condone it.
Money Magazine has the story.