The Canadian Real Estate Association voted Monday to approve amendments clarifying the association's rules governing how homeowners can access listings on the Multiple Listing Service.

CREA owns the Multiple Listing Service, which includes the public websites MLS.ca and Realtor.ca.

The changes are meant to address complaints raised by the Competition Bureau, which has complained that CREA's MLS service limits consumer choice and forces people to pay for services they might not want when selling a house through MLS.

These changes could affect the role of real estate agencies in the same way websites such as Expedia and Travelocity changed the role of travel agencies, according to the CBC's Tony Keller
.
Keller says there will still be middlemen between home buyers and home sellers: you will still need a place to advertise your property, a place to compile market information, and you may even want some well-compensated expert guidance.

The menu of services offered by real estate brokers may even grow, but some prices will fall and customers will be able to choose what level of service they want.

Read more

Tony Keller: The current system of selling homes makes no sense

Have you tried to sell your house? Have you ever tried to sell your house on your own? What was your experience? What advice would you give? Will this make you more likely to try selling your home independently?