April 21, 2003: WANTED: Regulations that Serve but Don’t Protect by Braden Cox
Competitive Enterprise Institute (www.cei.org)

E-commerce can in theory make economic transactions more efficient and less costly and increase consumer choice. However, in practice, old-style regulations are blocking these changes. This scenario is playing out now in the New York real estate market.

Real estate Internet portals can easily connect all the players to a real estate transaction—buyers, sellers, renters, landlords, and brokers. One such site, MLX.com, provides New York City property seekers private accounts for managing their apartment search and connecting to landlords, owners, brokers and MLX advisors. Founded by LaLa Wang, a gutsy female entrepreneur, MLX.com empowers renters and buyers to find matched listings that are accessible via the web and instant email services. Internal message centers offer a place to exchange questions and opinions, and to solicit advice. The company performs many of the same services as “traditional� real estate brokerage companies—consultation and negotiation assistance—but it does not show properties. The website is especially welcome in New York City, as it is the only major market in the U.S. without a Multiple Listing Services (MLS), a cooperative database where brokers list properties for sale and split commissions with buyer agents.

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