Direct from front page of REALTOR.org:

Daily Real Estate News  |  November 13, 2008  |   

NAR: ForSaleByOwner.com Statement Misleading

A press release distributed Nov. 12 by ForSaleByOwner.com erroneously and misleadingly claims that REALTOR.com is allowing FSBOs to be posted on its site. That claim is false. REALTOR.com and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® have asked ForSaleByOwner.com to retract its incorrect press release immediately.

There is no formal partnership between ForSaleByOwner.com and REALTOR.com.

REALTOR.com is the official consumer Web site of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and is operated by Move Inc.

No FSBO Listings on REALTOR.com

REALTOR.com only includes listings from multiple listing services (MLSs), which are cooperative listing databases maintained by and for brokers who are in the business of helping consumers buy and sell real estate. There are no "for-sale-by-owner" homes on REALTOR.com, nor would they qualify to be submitted to a REALTOR-owned and operated MLS.

MLSs, as participating data content providers to REALTOR.com, decide which of the listings in the MLS they will distribute to REALTOR.com.

Because no property can be listed on REALTOR.com without first being listed in an MLS, and since all properties in the MLS are listed by a broker, every listing on REALTOR.com is listed by a licensed broker. That would apply to properties supplied by ForSaleByOwner.com to licensed brokers who enter the listings on an MLS. In a case such as this, the ForSaleByOwner.com listing is not a "for sale by owner" listing but a broker-represented listing.

Erroneous Connection to Pending Lawsuit Settlement

In its Nov. 12 press release, ForSaleByOwner.com refers to a settlement agreement pending between NAR and the U.S. Department of Justice on the display of listings on brokers' Web sites.

"The DOJ-NAR settlement benefited consumers by giving them access to Realtor.com without the expensive cost of a commission fee," says Greg Healy, vice president of opreations at ForSaleByOwner.com.

In fact, there is no provision in that pending settlement agreement that allows unlisted properties, such as “for-sale-by-owner,” to be posted on REALTOR.com. The settlement agreement, when final, would not allow "new direct access to REALTOR.com," as the statement incorrectly claims.