Real Estate Groups Riled Up As GOP Controlled Congress Lets Net Neutrality Die  

Real estate groups nationwide and real estate websites are preparing for the worst. On Monday Net Neutrality officially died thanks to GOP congressional leaders. Net neutrality had become popular even among groups who initially opposed it.  However, certain congressional leaders and Trump sycophant turned FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

Net Neutrality prevented internet service companies from charging users more money to see certain content. It also allowed larger companies to pay providers to allow their content to have faster download speeds.

The Federal Communications Commission repealed net neutrality regulations last year.

However, the Senate voted to block the repeal back in May and passed a measure to restore net neutrality. Unfortunately, House Speaker Paul Ryan and his whip Steve “Sleazy” Scalise have blocked net neutrality in the House of Representatives.

The real estate industry has opposed the rollback. The NAR says the changes to net neutrality create an unlevel playing field for small companies including most of their members.

Real estate websites like Zillow and Redfin supported net neutrality.

Senator Sherrod Brown, (D-OH) tweeted that many Ohio members of NAR joined together to witness the vote when the Senate voted to block the rollback.

Several states, about 29, are now considering legislation to implement their own form of net neutrality. However, at a national level, net neutrality is dead.

NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall told Housingwire:

The NAR has concerns about the FCC’s decision to roll back net neutrality and how it could negatively impact the way consumers search for homes or how real estate is transacted.

Elizabeth Mendenhall also stated that the FCC’s decision could harm small businesses.