REBNY portal no longer mandatory

The Real Estate Board of New York announced yesterday that its planned Web portal to provide property listings to the public will not be mandatory for the organization’s members. The decision was announced at a meeting of the Interfirm Forum, a governing body that consists of residential brokerage member firms, according to several brokers who attended the event. Frank Marino, a spokesperson for the trade organization, confirmed the decision. The announcement is a reversal of REBNY’s original position to make participating in the portal, which would bring together property listings from all firms onto a single public Web site, mandatory for all members. more By Jen Benepe