Networks unite to take on REA Group

The major franchise networks have banded together to fight back against the market dominance of realestate.com.au While the heads of all major networks and franchise groups meet on a regular basis, one unnamed source has confirmed with Real Estate Business they have turned their attention to industry outcry regarding recent fee hikes from REA Group. “For many many years, the networks have met on a regular basis to ensure industry-controlled data is retained. “And at no time more than now has it been so important. It has become clearly obvious this is necessary and an absolute must,” the source said. With the backing of a majority of real estate groups and at least one major bank, a new listing portal is currently under development. The news comes after agents overwhelmingly slammed the new fee structure from realestate.com.au despite REA Group defending the hikes. While details of the new portal are still under wraps, the source could confirm the plan is to destabilise the dominance of realestate.com.au “We can’t give any more details at this time, we want to make sure we’re up and running before we launch,” they said.