REW Public Comment : Www.homes-link.com (Gadsby, George) 10/26/2005, REW-0253

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NAR Urges Members to Write to DOJ, FTC on Competitiveness

(October 18, 2005) - On Oct. 25, the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission will host a public workshop in Washington, D.C., on the topic of competitiveness in the real estate industry. In conjunction with the workshop, the two federal agencies are inviting public comment on the issue of competitiveness.

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® is planning to participate in the workshop and is urging its members to write letters to voice their opinions and share personal experiences about how competitive the real estate industry is. The letters need to be sent to both the FTC and the DOJ and can be sent either by mail or by e-mail. NAR is urging members to write letters prior to the Oct. 25 workshop, but the two federal agencies will be accepting public comments after the workshop through Nov. 28.

The workshop, titled "Competition Policy and the Real Estate Industry," will be held at the FTC's Satellite Building Conference Center located at 601 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., and will cover topics such as MLSs, virtual office Web sites, discount and limited-service brokers, and minimum service requirements.

To learn where to send the letters to the FTC and the DOJ and obtain some prewritten key point to include in your letters, see the Tell Federal Regulators That Real Estate Is Competitive page at REALTOR.org. NAR would like to receive copies of any letters members submit. E-mail a copy to FTCDOJworkshop@realtors.org.

To learn more about competitiveness of the real estate industry, go to the About Industry Competitiveness page at REALTOR.org.

-REALTOR® Magazine Online