Opinion letter to Mr. James Flanagan

March 30, 1972 Mr. James Flanagan, Chairman Missouri Real Estate Commission 222 Monroe Str eet Jefferson City, Missouri 65101 Dear Mr. Flanagan: OPINION LETTER NO. 25 Answer by letter-Curtis F I L E 0 ~~- This is in r eply to your opinion request asking whether in- dividuals, associations, or corporations, who operate services col11I'lonly knm<~n as "multiple listing" or "multi-list" are required to be licensed as r eal estate brokers pursuant to Chapter 339, RSMo 1969. It is our understanding that multiple listing is a service based on an agreement among real estate brokers in a given area whereby member brokers are authorized to sell any real property that is originally listed with another member broker. Multiple listing groups are commonly incorporated or organized as associa- tions . The corporations and associations promul~ate rules and regulations to guide their member brokers. Normall y, when a real estate broker obtains a new listing he reports it to his organiza- tion's central office or bureau. The multi-list bureau then dis- seminates the listing information to the other member brokers. When a sale is made the selling broker usually pays a small per- centage of his commission to the multiple listing corporation. Some multiple listing organizations simply charge their brokers a fixed annual, or monthl y, or unit charge . All members of multi- ple listing organizations are individually licensed to act as real estate brokers. The issue is whether the conduct or the multiple listing or- ganizations is such as to come within t he definition of a real estate broker found in Section 339.010, RSMo 1969: Mr. James Flanagan 11 A 'real estate broker' is any person, co- partnership, association or corporation, foreign or domestic, who advertises, claims to be or holds himself out to the public as a real estate broker or dealer and who for a compensation or valuable consideration, as whole or partial vocation, sells or offers for sale, buys or offers to buy, exchan~es or offers to exchange t he real estate of others; or who leases or offers to lease, rents or offers for rent the real estate of others; or who loans money for others or of- fers to negotiate a loan secured or to be secured by a deed of trust or mortgage on real property." Multiple listing organizations serve a single, narrow purpose: They simply disseminate listing information for t he licensed real estate brokers. These organizations perform none of the traditional acts of real estate brokers . such as advertis ing and showing listed property; completing real estat e contract s and receiving earnest money deposits; and arranging for "closing" on real estate transac- tions. All of these functions are performed by the individual real estate brokers . The transacting parties do not pay any commissions to the multiple listing organizations ; r ather , t hese or ~anizations collect any fee s or charges directly from the brokers . We are persuaded that multiple listin~ organizations do not hold themselves out to the public as r eal estate brokers nor do these organizations engage in t he busines s of buyin~ and selling the real estate of others. It is our view that multiple listinv, organi zations do not act as real estate brokers and thus are not required to be licensed as real estate brokers pursuant to Chapter 339, RSMo . Yours very truly, JOHN C. DANFORTH Attorney General -2-