Computerworld reports that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has ruled that, by restricting some discount real-estate listings from its own and other publicly available Web sites, Realcomp II, the largest real-estate listing group in Michigan, violated federal law.

The FTC says Realcomp II restricted access to listings of real-estate brokers who have offered discounted services. Writes Commissioner William Kovacic:

Given the market structure and competitive dynamics of the residential real estate industry, we find that Realcomp's [policies] harmed competition and created a likelihood that valuable rivalry among real estate service providers would be suppressed.

The FTC's Final Order bars Realcomp from discriminating against discount brokers. Realcomp also has 30 days to amend its rules and regulations to conform with the order's provisions.