The Competition Bureau, the independent law enforcement agency in charge of regulating competition in Canada, has obtained a court order to advance its investigation into potential anti-competitive conduct by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) related to rules about real estate commissions and the Realtor Cooperation Policy.
The order, granted by the Federal Court, requires CREA to produce records and information relevant to the Bureau’s investigation to determine if CREA’s commission rules discourage buyers’ realtors from competing to offer lower commission rates or affect competition in other ways. CREA’s commission rules require sellers’ agents to offer compensation to the buyers’ agents for properties listed on an MLS system.
The Bureau is also looking to determine if CREA’s Realtor Cooperation Policy makes it more difficult for alternative listing services to compete, reduces competition among realtors, or gives larger real estate brokerages an unfair advantage over smaller ones.
CREA is one of Canada’s largest single-industry associations, representing over 160,000 real estate professionals. The Bureau noted that its investigation is ongoing and there was no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.
CREA Chairman James Mabey acknowledged the investigation and stated, “CREA believes its rules and policies are both pro-competitive and pro-consumer, including by increasing transparency and helping realtors better serve Canadian property buyers and sellers.”
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