Antitrust Laws

State and federal laws designed to maintain and preserve business competition. 

Antitrust situations include price-fixing, certain types of boycotts, allocation of customers or markets, restrictions on competition in shopping center leases, and certain restraints placed on franchisees by franchisors. Also challenged are certain “tie-in” arrangements, as when a developer conditions a sale by insisting that the buyer promise to list the property with the developer if the buyer wishes to resell, or when a property manager attempts to force a client’s commitment to list with the manager in the event of sale. 

Certain real estate brokerage activities have come under public scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. These activities include the fixing of general commission rates by local boards or groups of brokers and the exclusion of brokers from membership in local boards or in multiple-listing arrangements due to unreasonable membership requirements. As a result of court cases, local real estate boards no longer directly or indirectly influence fixed commission rates or commission splits between cooperating brokers. Moreover, in some states, clients must be specifically informed that the commission rates are negotiable between client and broker.