Lourens was allowed to present at a roundtable discussion in the House of Representatives on July 1, Eerlijk Bieden . In preparation for this conversation, Eerlijk Bieden prepared a conversation note to inform the MPs. The discussion memorandum and views can be found below.
Talking note Eerlijk Bieden
Introduction:
The Dutch housing market is currently in chaos. A chaos created by historically low interest rates, lagging new construction production and underestimated population growth. Nevertheless, the housing market should essentially still be a free market, a market where everyone should have an equal opportunity to buy a home and the rules of the game are the same for everyone.
It is therefore impossible to explain to the Dutch consumer that there is 'favoritism', 'insider bidding' and 'bargaining' in the industry. There are plenty of examples of bids that sometimes do not reach the seller, because otherwise the friendly buying broker will be in a fix, or about brokers who get information passed on. In our view, therefore, today's housing market is far from fair.
A real estate agent plays an important role in the biggest decision in a person's life. It is therefore important that you can trust this person at all times. The fact that Home Owners Association has already collected more than 200 complaints about real estate agents within a week suggests that this trust is no longer there.
In short, something has to change, and fast. The new homes needed will probably not be ready for years, interest rates will not suddenly rise quickly, but in the meantime, consumers are still waiting for an adequate response from politicians and the industry.
Eerlijk Bieden:Â
In response, we therefore launched Eerlijk Bieden . A quality mark for real estate agents under the motto: prevention is better than cure. A quality mark where both buyers and sellers know in advance that a bidding process will be 100% fair and what ultimately restores confidence in the housing market.
Eerlijk Bieden issues the guarantee of a fair bidding process through a combination of proprietary software and audits. By deploying these two tools, we ensure that member brokers are always working according to the applicable rules. Only in this way can consumers keep their cool in an overheated housing market.
To propose concrete solutions, we have set up the following four positions on behalf of Eerlijk Bieden :
1. Consumer bids should be anonymized:
Eerlijk Bieden has an easy solution against "favoritism" with our bidding software: all bids received by a broker are anonymized. Because a broker only sees user codes instead of names, there is no more room for favoritism (or discrimination). Everyone is simply equal to each other.
2. Enforce the "digital notary," as a measure against insider bidding:
Details of bids are passed between brokers to the detriment of the individual. To avoid this problem in tenders, we have a rule in our software that the details of bids are never visible to brokers until closing time. Only after closing time do the amount and any caveats become known. In this sense, our system acts as an independent "digital notary.
3. Sellers and candidates should have insight into submitted bids:
The craziness in the housing market is caused in part by intransparency. To give consumers insight into home values, we send all applicants, after the three-day statutory reflection period, a summary of the bids submitted. The seller receives this immediately after the closing time so they can be sure that no bids have been withheld. This overview can also serve as the consumer's burden of proof in the event of a dispute. Because the consumer does not receive an overview of bids, he or she is almost always defenseless against a real estate agent when it comes to a case.Â
4. All broker bidding processes should be proactively monitored:
At present, there is little, if any, monitoring of the bidding process. When a consumer has a complaint, it is often forwarded to the hotline of industry associations such as the NVM and VBO, the advocates of real estate agents. As mentioned earlier, the consumer then almost never has proof. It is therefore time for control by an independent party, as recommended by the ACM. Eerlijk Bieden therefore conducts random audits among members to be able to detect abuses, including evidence.
In short, we believe that with the basic principles of Eerlijk Bieden: equality, transparency and control, we give consumers (both buyers and sellers) a fair chance in the housing market. Because of the important role of real estate agents, we want to take this up together with the industry as originally intended in 2001. So let's work together to ensure that, at least the few homes that finally go on sale now, are sold fairly.
About Eerlijk Bieden
Eerlijk Bieden is a completely independent seal of approval for real estate agents. Are you the real estate agent who helps build a fair housing market? Then contact us directly for more info or a demo.
Link to the call note.
