Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit's hearings, NAR President Richard A. Mendenhall said Realtors oppose a proposal to allow banks to enter real estate brokerage and property management because it violates congressional intent, violates longstanding federal policy against mixing banking and commerce and places independent real estate companies at a serious competitive disadvantage. Cash-rich banks could use profits from taxpayer insured operations to subsidize real estate functions, freeing more resources to consolidate market power. Some real estate firms would be forced to close their doors.
Banks have it backwards.
It is the mortgage that is, in fact, incidental to buying a home. Let me put this in perspective. These sellers are not shopping for a loan or any of the other lender services. The other 50 percent represent the buying side. You might assume all these homebuyers require a mortgage.