

The Canadian Real Estate Association on Sunday approved a settlement with the Competition Bureau that paves the way for a dramatic restructuring of how residential property is bought and sold in this country.
By a measure of 97%, representatives from close to 100 boards across Canada with nearly 100,000 Realtor members, voted in St. John’s to ratify the negotiated settlement CREA reached last month with Melanie Aitken the Commissioner of Competition.
Among the key conditions of the agreement, which has still yet to be made public, is a provision allowing real estate agents to offer a host of different services via the Multiple Listing Service. The MLS is responsible for about 90% of the transactions in Canada and had been the subject of anti-competitive charges by the Bureau. Full Story.