The FCC rules on lead aggregators and real estate

The FCC has passed new rules regarding lead aggregators and their practices in the real estate industry. The rules aim to crack down on spam telephone calls and ensure that leads have context and consent. Sellers of leads will now have to ensure that they only sell leads related to the specific products or services advertised and must gain one-to-one explicit consent from consumers for each business entity they sell the lead to. The rules primarily target automated robocalls and texts, and there is no prohibition on human agents manually calling leads. The penalties for non-compliance are expected to be severe, with potential fines and lawsuits. The impact of the rules on the residential real estate sector is expected to be significant, with lead volumes likely to decrease and lead costs likely to rise. Brokers and agents are advised to understand their dependence on buying leads, clarify the consent and flows of leads they purchase, and diversify their lead generation strategies.