You have porobably heard that the DOJ backed out of its settlement conversations with NAR over the current DOJ law suit against NAR by the DOJ. The DOJ backed out on July 8.

The date is significant, because the next shoe dropped the next day. On July 9, the White House released an Executive order that indicates the full force of administrative law and regulation and the power of the Executive Branch (on its own), to address issues in a number of industries…drug, technology, and real estate being specificly mentioned.

The battle between the DOJ and the real estate industry will continue, and it seems with more “bite” then any previous actions. From the Executive Order: To address persistent and recurrent practices that inhibit competition, the Chair of the FTC, in the Chair’s discretion, is also encouraged to consider working with the rest of the Commission to exercise the FTC’s statutory rulemaking authority, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, in areas such as:

(iv) unfair competition in major Internet marketplaces;

(v) unfair occupational licensing restrictions;

(vi) unfair tying practices or exclusionary practices in the brokerage or listing of real estate; and

(vii) any other unfair industry-specific practices that substantially inhibit competition. What might this mean to you as you finish 2021 and prepare for 2022?

Executive Order