Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

How to save the Phoenix Association of REALTORS new “Non-member access” plan.

You may have recently read that the Phoenix Association of REALTORS (PAR) and the National Association of REALTORS recently came to a settlement regarding PAR controversial “MLS Choice” membership option. As part of the settlement PAR will change the offering’s name to “Non-member MLS access”

From the Inman article…

“The new “non-member MLS access” offering “will eliminate any further confusion,” according to the statement, and will not give users access to the “Realtor” title. However, the non-member option will still give non-Realtors access to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS), as well as some products and services. Phoenix Realtors has had offerings giving non-Realtors ARMLS access since 1996, according to the statement.”

At our MLS Reset event Rob Hahn gave a presentation which he called “The Quiet Part Out Loud”. In it he posited that if the Phoenix Association or REALTORS (PAR) was successful that other local association would follow suit. I have to admit I really didn’t follow the presentation and it wasn’t until our latest podcast episode that I really understood the strategy behind PAR’s offering. I blame my lack of understanding to the naming convention PAR decided to use, “MLS Choice”. The new naming, “Non-member access” made it even worse. But I’ll come back to that.

Basically as I understand it, due to the the 3 way agreement if someone new joins PAR their membership dues would look like the following:

Phoenix Assn. of REALTORS Dues: $135/yr
Arizona Assn. of REALTORS Dues: $175/yr
National Assn. of REALTORS Dues: $156/yr

Which is a grand total of $466/yr

Membership to ARMLS would be $468 on top of those dues.

What PAR has done is created a new membership level (see below) that includes a different set of forms (but still passes all the legal smell tests) along with free continuing education classes, FastStats, Supra access and listing media services:

“Non-member access” (formerly MLS Choice) Dues: $249/yr

That’s $114 more than a regular PAR membership. Which translates to an 85% increase in revenue to PAR. But here’s the kicker, a current or new PAR member would save, $217/yr if they signed up/switched to the new plan. That’s real money.

Now I apologize to those of you who have read Rob’s posts and seen his presentation and already grokked this, but I was completely gobsmacked once I understood this fact. Here’s what I mean…

PAR is actually promoting not being a part of the Arizona Association of REALTORS and the National Association of REALTORS as a feature, not a bug! 🤯

Let’s assume about 95% of the 10,000 PAR members are on the legacy plan, paying $135/yr. Which is around $1.3M/ yr. If they get 50% to switch to “Non-member access” plan, then their annual revenue will jump to 1.8M/yr. An increase of $500K! That’s almost a 40% increase in revenue.🤯🤯

We’ve all been worried about how associations would survive without revenue from the MLS. And it turns out the answer is to offer a membership plan that doesn’t include State or National membership! 🤯🤯🤯

But here’s the problem. Nobody will understand this if you have names like “MLS Choice” or “Non-member access”. Yuck! 🤮 What do those names even mean?? You need better marketing if you are going to sell a plan like this. You need something sexy, and if you listen to the latest Industry Relations podcast you can hear Rob and I come up with the perfect name for this in real time.

Here’s a taste…

James Reynolds to retire

Congratulations on Retirement, James Reynolds

“As Mr. Fisher’s first hire following NAR’s acquisition in 2003, James recruited our initial 100 Association customers in just our first 36 months of operations, laying the foundation for our growth as a leading technology company, serving over 400 Associations and over 400,000 REALTORS®.”

Legendary. One of the good guys. It’s hard to say if anyone ever “retires” from this business (that’s why we call it Hotel California) but maybe James will be one of the lucky ones that escape the gravity pull. Happy Trails James!

T3 Sixty Webinar-“5 years of insights for MLS & Association Executives”

The industry owes the folks at T3 Sixty a lot of gratitude for putting this information together. Whether you are a vendor, MLS organization or Association this data is gold when it comes to planning.

Today T3 Sixty just updated its Real Estate Almanac. This year they also parsed out ownership structures of MLS organizations. Join Clint tomorrow and get the full rundown.

To register visit => T3 Sixty Webinar Series

Space Coast Adds Relevate’s SSO and Communication Center

Space Coast Association of REALTORS® launches Relevate SSO and Communication Center

“Ensuring an organization’s entire value proposition is front-and-center with every member log in, Relevate’s SSO Dashboard highlights all the tools provided by the association or MLS along with key benefits such as education, events, affinity programs, governance, and more. It is a powerful companion to Relevate AMS and Relevate for MLS that handles identity management, collects actionable usage data to guide management decisions, and sends targeted communications to drive user engagement.”

Mike Price at Relevate

The AMS, SSO, member communication space is going to heat up fast. I’m hearing about multiple solutions out there. This is going to drive innovation and be great for MLS organizations and their members.

Former SDAR CEO, Mike Mercurio, charged with embezzlement

CEO of San Diego Association of Realtors ousted amid accusations of embezzlement

“The plaintiffs, which include the association’s former Chief Operating Officer, Director of Human Resources, Controller, and Marketing Chief, claim Mr. Mercurio, “engaged in massive embezzlement, stealing over $1 million from SDAR, and further directed, and participated in, the falsification of financial documents, extensive personal use of company credit cards, payroll fraud, and tax evasion.”

To make matters worse, plaintiffs, Heather Pena, Laura Martella, Jon Schwartz, and Nicholas Hoffer, say instead of supporting them after discovering what they claim was a long-running embezzlement scheme, the association’s board “shot the messengers” by launching investigations into their conduct and later firing them without cause. “

CBS 8 News

Everyone deserves their day in court but even if half these allegations are true they should throw this idiot in jail and throw away the key.

Looking for a new gig?

MLS Director – San Antonio Board of REALTORS(R)

“San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR) is seeking a highly motivated and forward-thinking individual to take on the role of MLS Director. As the MLS Director, you will be a key leader, providing direct oversight of the MLS department and fostering a culture of teamwork and collaboration within the team.”

To find about this job and more please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board!

Industry Relations Podcast: Why Real Estate Needs Separation of Church and State

What’s it like being a technology company in the world of real estate and MLS? And why does it seem like there needs to be some “separation of church and state.” in real estate? Join Rob and Greg in this episode of Industry Relations as they chat with Stuart White, CEO at Realtracs. They delve into the tech side of real estate and why Realtracs is paving the way in treating MLS members. To see how Stuart and his team are leading real estate tech visit them at Realtracs.

Watch Us on YouTube!

Connect with Rob and Greg

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2023.

Looking for a new gig?

MLS & Membership Director – Central Oregon Association of REALTORS

“This is a newly created position, and reports to the Chief Executive Officer. The Multiple Listing Service Director is responsible for the full operation, supervision, evaluation, delivery, and maintenance of all Multiple Listing Services (MLS) and supporting products in conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer. The MLS of Central Oregon currently services 2500+ MLS members and works with the other MLSs in our data share on a regular basis.”

The find out about this job or post a job, please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.

Looking for a new gig?

Director, Finance – Tucson Association of REALTORS

“Includes, but not limited to:

* Providing first-line service to a high volume of member requests, with the highest level of professional interaction.
* Strong computer skills required, including all Microsoft and Outlook product Suite, and proven experience and success with entry and maintenance of a digital record keeping system.”

The find out about this job or post a job, please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.

Has the California Association of REALTORS cancelled Glide as a member benefit?

On a recent Facebook post agents are commenting on some sort of notice going out. You remember, Glide was recently acquired by Compass. Can anyone confirm?

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