U.S. Sues Realtor Group Over Web-Listing Rule

The Justice Department asked a federal court to strike down a real estate industry rule that, it said, cripples competition from online brokers.

The suit against the industry’s main trade group, the National Assn. of Realtors, challenges a bylaw allowing brokers to withhold their listings from online competitors.

The association announced that it was modifying the bylaw so that brokers would have to opt out of all online listings and could not selectively opt out of individual websites.

But the U.S. said the revised rule was still anti-competitive, because it discriminated against “brokers who use the Internet to more efficiently and cost-effectively serve home sellers and buyers.”