What is the exam-ready distinction?
| Official syllabus topic | Practice of Real Estate: Federal Antitrust and Competition |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Practice of Real Estate |
| Published weight | 12% of the 100-question national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Price fixing | Market allocation | Group boycott |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agreement | Competitors agree on price, commission, fee, discount, or pricing method | Competitors divide customers, territories, property types, or business | Competitors agree not to deal with a person or business, or only on coordinated terms |
| Exam clue | Standard commission or fee schedule | You take north county; we take south county | Everyone refuses to work with a discount brokerage |
| Lawful contrast | Each firm sets terms independently | Each firm competes wherever it chooses | Each firm makes an independent dealing decision |
| Required core | Concerted competitor conduct | Concerted competitor conduct | Concerted conduct with anticompetitive purpose or effect under governing law |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. Competing brokers agree that none will list a home for less than a 6 percent commission.
Reason it through. The firms are competitors and have coordinated the price of brokerage services rather than setting terms independently.
Answer. The agreement is price fixing.
Common exam traps
- Assuming traditional commission language makes coordination lawful
- Calling independent matching an agreement without evidence
- Confusing customer division with price fixing
- Saying every unilateral refusal is a group boycott
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1At a lunch meeting, brokers from three competing firms agree that none of them will take a listing for less than a 6 percent commission. What is this?
- A. Market allocation, because the brokers divided the listing market
- B. Lawful, because 6 percent is a customary commission in the area
- C. A group boycott, because sellers wanting lower fees are refused
- D. Price fixing, because competitors agreed on their commission
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Price fixing, because competitors agreed on their commission
Price fixing is an agreement among competitors about prices, commissions or fees. These firms coordinated a minimum commission instead of setting it independently. The customary-rate answer is the trap, because tradition never makes a competitor agreement lawful.
Question 2Two competing Georgia brokerages agree that one will take listings only north of the river and the other only south of it. Which violation does this describe?
- A. Market allocation
- B. Price fixing
- C. Group boycott
- D. Tie-in arrangement
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Market allocation
Market allocation divides territories, customers or property types among competitors, and splitting the county at the river is a territorial division. Price fixing can look relevant because both are antitrust violations, but nothing here involves an agreement on commissions or fees.
Question 3A broker decides alone not to cooperate with a discount firm. Later, the same broker and two competitors agree that none of them will show the discount firm's listings. Which conduct is a group boycott?
- A. Both decisions, because each refuses to deal with the discount firm
- B. Only the first decision, because it came before any agreement
- C. Only the agreement among the three competing brokers
- D. Neither, because each broker may choose whom to work with
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. Only the agreement among the three competing brokers
A group boycott is a coordinated refusal to deal, so it needs an agreement among competitors. The broker's solo decision is an independent business choice, while the three-broker pact is concerted conduct. Calling every refusal a boycott skips the agreement the violation requires.
Ready to move on?
You have this distinction down when all of these are true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one key fact.
- Explain the rule or fact that makes each distractor wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Seller Net Versus Buyer Funds Needed at Closing. Because each firm must set its own commission, that fee shows up as a real number at closing, and the next page shows where it lands: as a seller debit when you work out seller net versus the buyer's funds needed.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Practice of Real Estate hub.