Compass’ Robert Reffkin and REBNY’s James Whelan. (Getty, Whelan ph: Anuja Shakya)
The Real Estate Board of New York represents the interests of the city’s many residential brokerages. Compass says it’s not one of them.
The brokerage alleges in a new lawsuit that REBNY has conspired with Douglas Elliman and the Corcoran Group to “thwart” its business in New York City. The complaint was filed in federal court for the Southern District of New York Friday afternoon. (Elliman and Corcoran are not defendants in the case, but are cited throughout.)
Compass said it was bringing the suit to “halt REBNY and its co-conspirators’ anticompetitive scheme, release from their market dominance, and reinvigorate the competitive process.”
Black Knight, Move and Innovative MLSs Open New Era in Real Estate Tech yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Real Deal, but neither party would confirm details of its existence to Inman.
“REBNY continues to innovate and improve the [Residential Listing Service] and we look forward to announcing upgrades and improvements in the future,” Sam Spokony, a spokesperson for REBNY said, in a statement.
REBNY is the New York City-based trade association for real estate agents in both the commercial and residential sectors. It has previously never had a proprietary public-facing real estate portal for its Residential Listing Service (RLS), which distributes listings for local member brokerages.
RLS does not syndicate to StreetEasy, rather listings appear on StreetEasy through direct partnership inputs from agents and brokerages. RLS does send its listings to realtor.com, RentHop and Homes.com.