NAR Lawsuit

About a dozen people have sent me this article in the last hour knowing the contrarian approach to real estate that I've been taking with my company Vroombrick.com (I think that means I'm doing something right and appreciate my friends who are in tune with what I'm doing!)

I wanted to share my opinion in a clear and concise way because I think it's something that the real estate industry has shied away from talking about and happy to follow up to any questions or responses.

Background:
In December I placed my real estate license in an inactive status to go all in on my company VroomBrick which aims to democratize real estate transactions and save buyers and sellers thousands of dollars on closing cost by using technology. For those of you who follow me on LinkedIn you know this is something that has been in the works for the last year and half through 2 start up incubator programs local to Virginia and recently a Start Accelerator Up based out of Hampton.

Now to get into my opinion:

Bottom Line Up Front: This lawsuit was absolutely necessary and the verdict of making cooperative compensation practices outlawed is a WIN for the consumer.

If you've talked to me in the last 2 years you'll know that I've had a contrarian approach to real estate. I've pointed out that the real estate industry has a monopoly on 2 things: 1) data entry when it comes to MLS and 2) access to homes. This monopoly creates artificial barriers to knowledge and processes that are in simple terms... not rocket science.

Going to get a lot of flak for my opinion but if you have been a client of mine in the past- you know that I've either 1) got your closing cost fully covered outside of the down payment 2) contributed some amount of commission towards your sale or purchase. When the consumer wins EVERYBODY wins.

I will end with this:
I followed the courtroom proceedings of the Sitzer Burnett vs. NAR lawsuit meticulously and my favorite quote from the courtroom came from Michael Ketchmark (Plantiff's Attorney): "Our goal is to take the message (from this lawsuit) from Missouri across the nation and return the process of selling homes to the fair market and allow people to reap the benefits of technology..."

I believe a new system for real estate needs to be created and I think the invisible hand of fair market forces will ultimately decide who wins.