Weeks after a settlement between the Canadian Real Estate Association and federal competition regulators shook up the resale housing industry, the Competition Bureau is investigating separate complaints against CREA, QMI Agency has learned.

Real-estate lawyer Lawrence Dale confirmed that the Bureau has opened an inquiry into the use of CREA’s secured Multiple Listing Service data as a result of his complaints to the bureau.

The trade board does not share historical sales data stored on the MLS with the general public, unless requested in-person at an agent’s office or the inquirer has signed on as a customer.

The Competition Bureau cannot confirm the existence of ongoing inquiries until they reach the competition tribunal.

A spokesperson for CREA said the board is not aware of any additional inquiries by the bureau.

Last month, CREA agreed to Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken’s demands and agreed not to discriminate against real estate agents who chose to post houses on CREA’s all-important MLS without offering customers the full suite of traditional realtor services.

The deal has been hailed as a victory for consumers who are no longer forced to pay commissions of up to 5% of the value of the transaction in order to list their property on the MLS, which offers maximum exposure, if they are comfortable negotiating on their own behalf.

Dale, a self-described “pit bull,” has been leading the charge against CREA’s closed-door policies for nearly a decade. He acted as the bureau’s resident expert in the last case and won. The settlement paved the way for Dale to re-open his discount brokerage.

If CREA and the bureau cannot reach a resolution on this latest issue, it’s expected commissioner Aitken will again challenge CREA at the tribunal.

In the U.S., agents can operate virtual offices where they can electronically share historical sales data.