Top Hamptons residential real estate brokerages have become the target of a U.S. Justice Department investigation over whether the Web-based listings exchange system Open RealNet Exchange, or OREX, unfairly leaves out smaller companies, according to the New York Post, which did not cite the names of the companies. The move comes on the heels of a dropped lawsuit that George Simpson, owner of competing data service Suffolk Research Service, brought against 25 East End real estate firms and brokers, according to an August 2009 story from The Real Deal. Simpson has long-argued that the OREX system’s hefty $40,000-plus yearly subscription fee blocks smaller companies from joining, forming a de facto monopoly among the East End’s big boys. [Post]

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Panoramic View (top left), Bulova Watchcase Factory (top right) and Prime 103 (bottom) are at the center of legal controversies

This summer, a court is set to decide whether a group of brokers in the
Hamptons is functioning like a monopoly. By charging too-high fees for
their shared online system, known as OREX, the brokers are illegally hoarding key property data, a lawsuit alleges. But while the sweeping legal action is keeping lawyers busy, it’s not
their sole source of work, as the upscale second-home destination on
Long Island’s East End suffers from the housing downturn like the rest
of the country. For one, the region has been hit with a rash of short sales, brokers
say, as homes teeter on the brink of foreclosure. The Springs section
of East Hampton has been particularly hard hit, with 12 short sales in
the last few months, said Veronica Montemarano, a sales agent with
Prudential Douglas Elliman in Montauk. [more]