Re: Michigan House Bill 4849 Dear Lt. Governor Cherry and Senator Birkholz: We understand that the Michigan Senate is scheduled to consider Michigan House Bill 4849 ("HB 4849" or "the Bill"),(1) which would change current law to require Michigan real estate professionals to provide an array of services to their clients. In a letter to Senator Alan Sanborn and David Hollister, Director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, dated October 18, 2005, we provided our analysis of this Bill's likely effects on Michigan consumers. Our analysis showed that the requirements in HB 4849 would make it more difficult for real estate professionals to provide Michigan consumers with customized real estate brokerage services, and likely would decrease competition among real estate professionals. We concluded that with less competition, Michigan consumers will have fewer options for real estate services, likely causing some home sellers and home buyers to pay thousands of dollars more in commissions to real estate brokers. In our letter, we also noted that we were not aware of any evidence of consumer harm from allowing fee-for-service brokers to operate in Michigan. For these reasons, we urged the Michigan Senate to reject HB 4849 in its current form. For your convenience, we have attached a copy of our October 18, 2005 letter. We appreciate this opportunity to present our views and would be pleased to address any questions or comments regarding competition policies.
cc: Tom Martin Michelle Rick, Esq.
FOOTNOTES 1. We also note that Michigan House Bill 4850 would amend current Michigan law to require listing agents to disclose the requirements in HB 4849 to their clients. See HB 4850 § 2517(2). Neither bill will take effect unless both are enacted into law. |
