I happened to witness personally the almost savage antagonism, even between agents within the same Brokerage, and it has been a very disappointing experience. One would think that with the plethora of available apartments and houses in the market, especially in New York city, there would be enough listings to sustain all agents, new and old but with the emerging and all encompassing internet technology the truth is far from that.
The housing websites like Streeteasy, Zillow and the like have infiltrated the housing market so deeply and efficiently that all listings are posted instantly online, with all the information of the building, apartment, rent, past rental history, sales, neighborhood info and much more.
This would not be a problem to the Real Estate Agents, to the contrary it would be an excellent tool, if the listings posted by the Building Management Companies were not open to the public immediately. I am not aware if any legal steps have been taken by the various Realty Associations or complaints made in regards to Fair Business practices and antagonism but that should have been a first response to the current development of such unfair market.
What I propose is a period of one week after posting during which all available apartments or houses for rent or sale are accessible and visible only to agents so that they have the opportunity or even some chance of finding a client.
After that, it should be open game for all.
