After a parade of seven witnesses (plus Full Committee Chair Michael
Oxley) who appeared before the House Banking Subcommittee on Housing and
Community Opportunity to testify about alleged limitations on competition
from Internet competitors by the National Association of Realtors and its
affiliated multiple listing services, the defense got a few words in
edgewise.
...Both Lewis and Ms. Vredeycogd-Combs cited recent
studies that indicate commissions have been trending down
- going from 6.1 percent in 1991 to the current average of 5.1 percent.
That is not a one percent decrease, Lewis said, but a 16 percent
decrease, a level not experienced by many industries over the same
period of time.
...