Realty ONE gives agents the option to leave NAR
The global brokerage has formed a Phoenix-based subsidiary, allowing area agents to discontinue association membership while retaining MLS access.
It's been a tough couple of years for the National Association of Realtors: 2023 was marked by internal turmoil and a crushing jury verdict, while 2024 will be remembered for NAR's costly settlement and rule changes that have not been universally embraced.
In the wake of these setbacks and disruptions, some within the industry have questioned the association's value, while others have taken legal action challenging mandatory membership rules.
And now a prominent global brokerage is giving some of its agents a pathway to leave NAR.
Who is involved? Realty ONE Group — a franchise brand with more than 20,000 real estate agents across the U.S. and globally — announced today that its Phoenix-area agents can decide whether they want to affiliate with or remain members of NAR.
Beginning January 1, 2025, agents in eight Phoenix locations will have the option to join a newly created subsidiary, Realty ONE Group AZ, allowing them to "disassociate" with NAR and sign up for Phoenix Realtors' MLS Choice program.
What is MLS Choice? In November, Phoenix Realtors announced a new, lower-cost membership program for brokers dubbed MLS Choice. If a brokerage opts in, its agents can access the MLS and legal forms — without joining a Realtor association.
It's not the first association to challenge membership norms. In September, Alabama Realtors sent a letter to NAR asking the national association to make membership optional. Individual agents and brokers have also objected to mandatory membership as a prerequisite for MLS access, with NAR facing at least three active lawsuits related to the matter.
What Realty ONE had to say: "Choice and opportunity will always be number ONE for us because the real estate professional is the center of their business, and the center of ours," Kuba Jewgieniew, Realty ONE Group founder and CEO, said in a news release.
"We want our agents to have a choice and know they always have a home with us whether or not they choose to affiliate with NAR," added Pat Kelly, Realty ONE's president of brokerage operations.