Proptechs behaving badly? Spain’s equivalent of the SEC, has slapped heavy fines on several firms operating an MLSs (***) in the Spanish realestate space for alleged commission-fixing and generally behaving like a cartel.
By cartel, think OPEC, not Narcos. ?
? So what did this involve?
Those involved in this case allegedly required agents to offer a minimum commission of 4% on sales and one month on rentals. It also imposed a 50% commission split between the listing agent and the one that closed the transaction.
The CNMC says this falls foul of Spanish anti-competition regs.
? So WHO is getting fined and HOW MUCH?
According to Cinco Días, Spain´s CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia) has imposed fines on Anaconda (≈€1.7k fine), Idealista (≈€730k ?), Inmovilla (≈€83k ), Look & Find (≈€31.5k ), MLS (≈€10k) , Remax (≈€375k ?) and Witei (≈€19k) “for having carried out a series of agreements to fix prices and exchange information in the real estate brokerage market.”
Not surprisingly, idealista is appealing the decision.
*** What is an MLS? It stands for Multi Listing Service, ie agents sharing listings with other agents for split commissions. Here on the Costa del Sol, the big two are Inmobalia & ReSales Online, others down here include Infocasa, Milenio Plus & Inmolink.
? Could this affect us down here?
From my understanding, the MLSs here (listed above ?) all allow agents to set their own commissions and commission splits, so no, I don’t think so.
Full story here (Spanish): https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2021/12/09/companias/1639049577_084921.html
