Antitrust Field Guide

Welcome to the KAR Field Guide to Antitrust website. A little competition is a good thing, right? Learn why awareness of antitrust issues is important for real estate professionals, along with information on avoiding antitrust problems. This Field Guide provides guidance for brokers and associations about this essential legal issue.

To view the recently-produced NAR video on Antitrust, move your mouse over the movie frame below. Move your mouse out of the frame to stop the movie.

Cooperation is generally a good thing. But when you get together with competitors to decide prices and other business practices, you can run afoul of antitrust laws. See how well you know what kind of behavior is acceptable and what might trigger an investigation by the authorities by reading through the following Q&As:

1. True or false? Setting the same fees and commission splits as a competitor does not violate antitrust laws as long as you don’t do so through a formal agreement.
2. True or false? It is an antitrust violation for a broker to force his agents to charge a certain commission.
3. True or false? Two agents within the same firm can charge different commissions, if that’s acceptable to the broker.
4. True or false? Though competitors cannot agree to set pricing structures, they can agree to divide territorial boundaries or other types of market segments.
5. True or false? It is an antitrust violation if more than 70% of agents in one city charge the same commission rate.
6. True or false? A broker can be held liable for antitrust violations by one of his agents even if the broker was unaware of the violation.
7. Which of the following terms is acceptable when discussing your commission?
   a) standard b) prevailing c) typical d) common
8. True or false? You may not ask a prospect what an agent from another firm said he would charge to sell the prospect’s home.
9. True or false? If you are present when a discussion takes a turn toward a possible antitrust violation, you should leave as discretely as possible.
10. True or false? An MLS cannot require a minimum term for listings.

Answers

1. False. Even an informal discussion can be the basis for a price-fixing agreement that violates antitrust laws.
2. False.
3. True.
4. False.
5. False. Firms and agents can charge the same commission as long as they arrive at that figure independently.
6. True.
7. You should avoid all of those terms.
8. False.
9. False. You should say why you are leaving and, if at a formal meeting, ask that the reason for your departure be noted in the minutes.
10. True.

The NAR also has a Field Guide to Antitrust website. Click here to go to the website. You will need your National REALTOR® Database System (NRDS) ID to use the NAR website. If you don’t have this number, request it from KAR by clicking here.