Guest (Ben Herallalong) from Wolfies says:
are headed from here has more to do with the power of the internet, mass media and social networking than it has to do with anything George and his crew have done. Whatever the outcome it is an interesting time to be in the business.

Guest (Carmine Calabro) from Remsenburg says:
While individual agents may elect to pick and choose which brokerages they will co-broke with, I always select all participants in OREX and list my exclusives on MLS. I also split 50/50 with a selling broker. Maybe I'm the minority, but my clients (sellers) are being given the broadest opportunity to sell using all the tools that PDE subscribes to. I listed a home in Remsenburg last year on a Thursday, added it to OREX/HREO on Friday, had a bidding war on Saturday (with 8 brokers) and it sold at the asking price that afternoon. I split the commission and my clients were extremely happy they netted $1 million on the deal.

Guest (phil) from Sag Harbor says:
I was born in Southampton, raised in Sag Harbor, and currently manage web operations, from database to marketing for over 200 real estate brokerages and agents in the Tri-State area.

It is an absolute sham how the cartel in the Hamptons functions.

Indeed, Mr Kazickas, a businessman who effectively created an enormous mote to ward off competitors should be heralded for his / her acumen. But there’s much more to the construction of this castle, and it’s stakeholders within. A few notes on your summary:

>>>being a broker in The Hamptons was being part of a wealthy, classy, and clubby place, hard to break into. As values continued to rise, big money was being made. Everyone was content with the arrangement.<<<<

‘Burn the canal...after we’ve crossed it.’ The majority of brokers are native and or ex-pats from elsewhere imagining they are descendent in the female line from some regal aristocracy. Most have done nothing to raise the level of the profession itself… but have simply profited from rising home prices and limited competition, else they’d be schlepping 200,000 listings in Queens, Kentucky, or wherever else. Are they aware Sag was boarded up and almost bankrupt a few decades ago? Please…let’s stop pretending we’re on the shores of the French Riviera. You’re lucky you’re an hour and change from Wall Street. Else the only ‘club’ you’d belong to in the Hamptons would be a local Kiwanis.

>>Competing data management solutions wilted along the roadside. <<

Real Net and HREO’s portal can be created and managed for 1/10th the annual cost to each firm and 1/10th the maintenance. Any IT person with half a brain within the departments of the larger entities is well aware of this. But the cartel would never join a new system, even a non-MLS one, unless they had a level of control over who gets to see and show what. They all intuitively KNOW what they do is a joke for the money they earn compared to what their real value is in the marketplace. Getting a license to sell homes is not on par with passing the bar, or going through medical school. Sure, a lot of the work may be tedious and tiresome, but so long as the price is right, anyone with the ability to open a door and read a spec sheet can bring a deal to the table. The rest is a veneer. Price sells homes

>> And as far as the brokers are concerned, one can't blame them for buying into a more efficient data management solution that meets their needs, while also protecting their knowledge stock, depending upon how, and with whom, they wish to share listings.

Hardly more efficient than the standards that are presently available, but while it may be in their best interests…they are violating the law. It’s in my best interest from a biological standpoint to perform many acts of selfishness. But they could possibly land me in a spot of trouble. Hopefully the DOJ will see to it that the cartel gets in a spot of trouble.

All the oligarchy needs to do if they don’t want to add their listings to the MLS is to get a Seller Opt Out form signed, or simply disassociate from the MLS entirely. Of course Dottie would be unwilling to do this, as dozens of her offices she proudly boasts at managing would be negatively impacted throughout Suffolk, Nassau and Queens. And Corc needs it for North Fork and Canal West. Just stop lying to Sellers about delivering 100% coverage when thousands of agents are not able to show the homes. 3% is plenty to runneth your cup over. So all you pseudo spiritual frauds who claim to worship a deity, yet flagrantly flout all of the moral precepts codified in scripture no matter which denomination makes my keyboard susceptible to stomach bile. It’s sickening to know how many mediocre agents talk about their faith, or go to church once or twice a year…yet worship the material world so much to not think twice about step on fellow men and women doing legitimate business. Metaphysical hypocrisy at its finest. And then they’ll support the Save Sag Harbor movement, as though they care one iota for anything but their bank accounts.

Comments:

Agent Southampton - Amen! I detailed this on East End Listings blog last year. From Lori Barberia, to Vincent H and more…they don’t put their listings on MLS even though they pay the yearly fee, and are required to by Rule 203. North Shore & Queens multi-million dollar PDE listings go on Stratus. Why not Sag / Bridge SH? Because they don’t want the market of Sellers and Buyers to know there’s a flood of competition on the horizon that will save them money, and / or offer better service with ubiquitous data availability. Access to MLS gives a more efficient platform from which to judge their decisions on listing agent, buyers agent etc… That’s IF the MLS enforces their rules, which they clearly aren’t doing in the case of PDE , BHS & Corcoran.

Carmine Calabro – The current system (OREX) manifestly DOES NOT provide every client (Sellers) with the ability to sell their home to the broadest net of customers. I witnessed this first hand in my OWN town of Sag Harbor. Corcoran had a listing on Sag Turnpike and WOULD NOT allow a RE/MAX client of mine, with a BUYER IN SAG HARBOR to show it. They said…we’ll give you a referral fee. Why? In terms of credentials, and market wisdom, my client puts to shame the listing agent as well the managing broker’s background combined. So while they stick their smug noses in the air, fortunate to have ridden the wave of Hamptons home price escalation and geo-located opportunity, I hope they’re struggling today. To add insult, just recently Corcoran wouldn’t co-list a million-dollar listing with RE/MAX, with the same 6% commission rate, yet they are glad to do so when with another competitor. I’m sure the shareholders at NRT are delighted about the unrealized gains they could have earned had supercilious attitudes been tabled in favor of basic business physics.

So while you work in Remsenburg, and most likely have enough agents in the local market showing listings evenly, it does not happen in the South Fork. And even PDE agents in Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, and Manhattan can’t see Hamptons inventory. Why do so many genuflect at the alter of dottie the diva with her clear demonstration of unethical conduct? Because Pru has the listings. Same with Corc. Barbara knows it’s a sham.

Hamptons Seller from East Hampton – Do you know that both Corcoran AND Prudential were both called to show a home listed by a client of mine from a world reknowned franchise, and BOTH companies said “Oh we don’t deal with that.” Unreal.

Witheld – Open listings are usually overpriced. But Sellers often don’t know what to do. They assume they have to go with Corcoran or PDE because they are local and have all the signs in the ground. OR, they want (understandably) to let every agent show the house, which is easily done if there were a legitimate sharing system.

I couldn’t believe it, or maybe I could, when I offered a few agents the opportunity to have EXCLUSIVITY on marketing a home on HREO, where they can take all the buyer leads, as well put it on their own site. They said nope…they wanted the full 6%, even though they weren’t the ones with the listing. The unethical, selfish, egomaniacal behavior is contagious.

Richard Kudlak – Linda was always an ethical broker with concern for clients all the way back during her days at Harpoon. I can personally attest to this. And while it’s great to know that you both are giving as much exposure to your clients, Prudential agents are required to put all of the listings on MLS. And I’m sure you know that the vast majority of agents in Prudential DO NOT put their listings on MLS. They may feel it’s not needed, as the majority of their leads come elsewhere.

But the fact is that MLSLI would be a major source of lead generation IF there were more Hamptons listings on it for the public, as well as a reliable source for Realtors outside the area.

Ed Vossen – Dottie denies her agents pay MLS fees, and therefore aren’t required to add their inventory to Stratus. She says it’s optional. Either she is so flighty as she sounds, or she’s consciously breaking the law codified in LIBOR rulebook.

Miriam from NYC – Information is not published for all to see, and unfortunately Suffolk County is embarrassingly behind the times with regard to deed transfer data. MyNassauProperty.com puts Suffolk records to shame. But if the listings were all on MLS, the closed records within the MLS System would be transparent including photos, and interior / exterior info not found in Riverhead or any of the third party aggregators including George’s product and others out there.

The reason they’d rather pay 50 large is because they’ll make tens of thousands on top of that by excluding the smaller players who can do the exact same thing they do. Price largely determines home sales, not “hamptons realtors”

Anonymous from anonymous – let’s get the FTC aware of this case!

Hamptons Buyer – Absolutely benefits Agents first. Agents will purposefully not show a listing if it has less than 6% attached or 3% to Selling side. I was informed by one of the top Corcoran agents in Sag Harbor of this very fact, as though it was ethical to do so. Would any professional NOT show a buyer a listing because they have to make 35K instead of 30K? Absurd. 80% of these rapacious agents in the Hamptons would be rendered obsolete in an efficient market.

Janet – Manhattan firms use similar tactics, but it’s far easier to show other brokerages listings than in the Hamptons. Too many property management companies market and sell their own listings for there to be a functional MLS with regulatory power over its members.

Anonymous from the Hamptons – The technology and maintenance can be replicated at 1/10th the cost on Setup and Yearly than OREX charges. But even at 10x, the cartel is willing to pay in order to exclude competition who is smarter, hungrier and willing to work at a lower commission rate.

Laurie@options … I’m laughing with them ! ☺

Guest (Miriam) from New York City says:
Carmine, you welcome assistance in selling your listings? Does that include sharing the commission and paying the other agent? Also you say HREO, OREX or MLS? They are not the same only the MLS guarantees a fair playing field where the buyers agent has the information they need to advise the buyer properly. If you are not member or OREX or HREO and pay exorbitant fees you have no access to the information you need. Richard which MLS service do you put all of your listings on? LIBOR?

Guest (Carmine Calabro) from Remsenburg says:
The current system provides every client with the ability to sell their home using the broadest possible "net" to bring customers. In the "old" days, brokers would hoard their exclusives to earn the full commission, a case of centripitality. In today's highly competitive market, sharing a listing with all other brokers, albeit while diluting the commission, benefits the homeowner by incentivizing all agents and brokers in the mix, a case of centrifugality. As an agent with Prudential, I welcome all agents and brokers to assist in selling and rentingr my listings, whether it be through HREO, OREX or MLS.

Guest (Hamptons Seller) from East Hampton says:
I'm currently selling my house in East Hampton. Hiring a broker should not be that much different from hiring any other professional where my requirements as the buyer of goods and services are the primary objective, most notably because I am the consumer, the one writing the checks. After interviewing several brokers from both the "big" firms as well as the few remaining "independent" firms it appears there is something systemically wrong with the real estate industry in the Hamptons. My needs, as the consumer, rank third in the real estate transaction behind the interests of the broker and the interests of the brokerage firm. Hats off to George Simpson for initiating the lawsuit and let’s roll out the red carpet for the Department of Justice.

Guest (Richard Kudlak) from Sag Harbor says:
I am an agent in the Sag Harbor office of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate. My partner Linda Casinove and I make it a point to put all of our listings on the MLS service to give our clients as much exposure as possible. We don't care who brings the buyer as long as our client's home gets sold. This business should always be about service.

Guest (Miriam) from New York City says:
Lets see if this clarifies some of this. A MLS system, which they do not have in the Hamptons is a sharing of information about properties on the market and a sharing of commission. Properties are placed on the market and information about those properties is readily available to all consumers through the internet and/or through any agent that a buyer or seller chooses to work with independent of which brokerage, independent of which agent. The system in the Hamptons restricts buyers. For instance if i am a buyer and I want to use my agent from Stonybrook, while Stonybrook is on Long Island there is no access through an MLS to listings, comparables or history's. I and my buyer agent would not be permitted access to the "sharing system" without accessing every agents web sites and without calling each listing agent to ask "permission to show and discuss how the commission will be handled" each and every time which puts my buyer at a disadvantage. This is discrimination against buyer's and takes their freedoms away. If that buyer decided to make an offer on a property their buyer's agent would not have access to those comparables because the Hamptons brokers won't release that information and while it is public knowledge this is what agents access through an MLS throughout the United States. It can take months to available through recordings. If this were a true MLS the commission split would be noted on the listing on the MLS and would be arbitrary and at the listing agnets discretion on a case by case basis. The commission split would be paid to the agent who has the best buyer with the best terms that sells the house, period. No other issues would come into pla. The consumer is protected under an MLS system and the consumer has their freedom to use whoever they want as a buyer's agent without being penalized for not belonging to the "system" out in the Hamptons. Smaller agency's can't survive out in the Hamptons because of prohibitive membership fees to a "sharing system". Competition is restricted, there is no free flow of the market, there is a stranglehold by some of the larger company's. The question is "Why pay $30,000-$50,000 to belong to a listing sharing system rather than $350.00 to belong to the multiple listing system of the Long Island Board of Realtors?

Guest (Hamptons Buyer) from Hamptons / NYC says:
The current system MOST benefits the real estate agents. It doesn't connect buyers to sellers efficiently (listings are held in "secret" for awhile before being shared with other agencies. Example - New listing shows up 1st on Corcoran's "New Listings" page, then a week or two later, the other agencies and portal websites have it in their system. Also, all the agencies charge the EXACT same commission. And they will not "negotiate" that number officially. If that's not collusion, I don't know what is!

Guest (Anonymous) from The Hamptons says:
12 +- years ago I started working at Hamptons.com. The first employee hired, one of my first tasks was to buy Ads on the most prominent Search Engines: pre-Google that was Lycos, Excite, Alta Vista. In asking for words related to the Hamptons Real Estate market, I found no company mentioned would let me buy key words as there was an exclusive arrangement with a company named HREO. There born was the business model of HREO. No competition meant they were the sole site to be on and therefore controlled the Hamptons Real Estate market. Later RealNet,a listing program was born and the business model followed the same philosophy.

Guest (Miriam) from New York City says:
Excellent overview of what is going on. The assumption that George Simpson was the catalyst for the DOJ is just that, an assumption. There is no competition and that is not right. The buyers and sellers are the ones being hurt with the status quo and the brokers win. Sellers don't have a choices in terms of listing agents, only OREX agents, and different listing packages. Buyers being forced to work with the sellers agent or a dual or designated agent instead of having free choice as to who represents them. The whole system out there is for the brokers and not the public and shame on all of them.