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Montana |
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Allows choice of brokerage services |
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Allows brokers to offer rebates to consumers |
The Antitrust Division helped preserve the benefits of free and open competition for Montana consumers in two recent instances:
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In August 2007, the Board of Realty Regulation adopted a new regulation prohibiting brokers from offering rebates, gifts, or promotional items to their clients. In response to an investigation by the Antitrust Division, the Board decided in April 2008 to reverse the rule and allow brokers to offer rebates to their customers.
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In August 2008, the Board of Realty Regulation proposed a regulation that would have required real estate licensees to participate in all aspects of the negotiations to buy or sell a home (including negotiating contracts, completing forms, and presenting offers and counteroffers), regardless of whether their customers wanted them to perform these tasks. The Antitrust Division wrote a letter to the Board of Realty Regulation opposing this rule because it would reduce consumer choice and innovation, and increase fees.
In December 2008, the Board issued an amended version of the rule, which allows home buyers and sellers to waive these services in writing. On March 13, 2009, the Board adopted the amended rule, and it took effect upon publication in the Montana Administrative Register in May 2009.
Learn more about:
Antitrust Division documents:
Press release:
Comment letter:
Related documents on the Internet:
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