CBS News’ 60 Minutes gave 13 minutes to the real estate industry on May 13th, but the recognized experts in the industry - REALTORS® - were given the silent treatment. The predictable result, one-sided journalism and a number of egregious errors (some of which have already been retracted on CBS’ website), serves nobody.

So, let’s set the record straight, once and for all:

1. The piece featured interviews with a representative from the now-defunct eRealty, as well as the president and CEO of online discount broker Redfin, but no one from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), even though NAR twice offered and prepared spokespersons for interviews with Leslie Stahl. CBS made the decision to interview opponents of traditional Real Estate agents, and allowed them to make inaccurate and unfair accusations about REALTORS® and NAR policies.

2. This did not come out of left field. In fact, NAR spent nearly a year working with CBS, briefing producers on many of the issues that were ultimately discussed. The producers even attended the REALTORS® annual conference last November and met with NAR’s legal counsel in Chicago. (NAR is in communication with 60 Minutes about its unbalanced reporting and presentation of misinformation, but the damage has been done.)

3. Error Number One: “The six percent commission is ’sacrosanct.’ Fact: All real estate commissions are negotiable. The nationwide commission average is actually 5.1 percent, according to Real Trends.

4. Error Number Two: “NAR is the industry’s ‘governing body.’ Fact: NAR is a trade association. It does not govern the real estate industry. Individual states regulate real estate transactions and license agents and brokers.

5. Error Number Three: “In 2003, NAR issued new rules of its own that threatened to block Internet discount brokerages’ access to the MLS.” Fact: The Virtual Office Website policy did not block access to MLSs for discounters or any other brokers who are members of the MLS.

6. Error Number Four: “The MLS is the database that lists virtually every home for sale in the country.” Fact: There is no single national MLS. Rather, there are more than 900 local and regional multiple listing services. These are not simply “databases” but private exchange of offers of cooperation and compensation between real estate brokers.

7. Error Number Five: “Eight states have ‘minimum service laws’ that require REALTORS® to provide a level of service many Internet discounters can’t afford.” Fact: “REALTOR®” is a trademarked term and should never be used synonymously with “real estate agent.” The intent of minimum service laws is to ensure consumers receive a minimal level of service from licensees.

8. Error Number Six: “The real estate brokerage industry has a powerful lobby. Eleven states flatly prohibit rebates.” Fact: The intent of anti-rebate laws is to prevent kickbacks in real estate transactions, not to limit brokers’ incentives to attract customers. The brokerage industry does not lobby for anti-rebate laws.

One final thought. We find it ridiculous that real estate agents and the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are being called “anti-competitive.” The truth is, we must cooperate with each other to ensure a successful transaction. The first MLS was created more than 100 years ago as way for brokers to share their listings with each another as a way of procuring buyers for their properties more quickly and efficiently than each could on their own. The MLS is a tool to help listing brokers attract brokers with buyer clients. Without the collaborative incentive of the existing MLS, brokers would create their own separate systems, fragmenting rather than consolidating property information.

The bottom line is, if you have a home listed for sale with us, you expect us to do everything we can to find a buyer for your home. You don’t care whether the buyer is represented by a full-service broker or an online discount broker. We don’t, either. If they can afford to buy your home, and they want to buy your home, we will make a deal. That’s the way it should be. Without an effective MLS, buyers would have to visit every real estate company in town to find out what’s for sale. Now THAT’S anticompetitive!

How much easier can it be? Look how easy it is to search the whole MLS!