It was a challenging year for multiple listing services and trade associations, who are often left holding the bag when one of their own misbehaves or when a big change jars the real estate industry.
The year started off with a bang as the National Association of Realtors grappled with members participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. That event and others throughout the year put NAR’s new hate speech policy to the test.
Then Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime had MLSs scrambling to respond as their subscribers expressed their displeasure over the deal, with some MLSs taking the novel step of becoming tech investors themselves.
And let’s not forget antitrust. With the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission scrutinizing the industry’s competitiveness, antitrust investigations and lawsuits hung over industry gatherings and permeated policy discussions. The attention lead to some policy changes at NAR, but left the fates of NAR’s most controversial policies on commissions and pocket listings to be decided in 2022 or beyond.
Here’s a look back at the top news this year for MLSs and trade groups.
Realtors tested NAR’s new hate speech policy
Samuel Corum/Getty Images; Jenna Ryan
In November 2020, NAR’s board of directors approved Standard of Practice 10-5, which reads as follows: “Realtors must not use harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”
A Realtor that violates the policy would be charged under Article 10 of the Realtor Code of Ethics, which prohibits denying equal professional services to anyone in those protected classes.
On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob, with Realtors among them, stormed the U.S. Capitol building and rioted while lawmakers attempted to certify the results of the 2020 election. Some who allegedly participated in the incident were Libby Andrews, an @properties…