NAR sends cease-and-desist letter to Phoenix Realtors

Real estate professionals and even some local Realtor associations have begun pushing back against the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) three-way membership. Phoenix Realtors (PAR) is one such association exploring alternative membership structures, but NAR is not having it.

In an email, sent to NAR’s board of directors, association leaders and other members, NAR’s General Counsel Lesley Muchow informed recipients that NAR had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Phoenix Realtors due to its new MLS Choice membership option. With this membership, real estate licensees are able to become members of PAR without becoming members of the Arizona Association of Realtors or NAR.

Through MLS Choice, brokers who are PAR members are able to “offer their agents the opportunity to access both the MLS and legal forms, along with several existing benefits, outside of the traditional three-tier membership system,” according to PAR’s website.

A NAR spokesperson described the letter as a “necessary action in response to” PAR’s decision to offer non-Realtor real estate licensees to be members of the local trade group and that this action will “support and defend the Realtor trademark,” as well as NAR’s model, its membership and the consumers Realtors serve.

“Without the consistency and partnership created by our integrated approach and our efforts to uphold NAR’s constitution, by-laws, and Three-Way Agreement, the benefits NAR members rely on—such as market research, business resources, a unified advocacy platform, and a single Code of Ethics—would be at risk,” the spokesperson wrote.

“This is a matter of maintaining standards for the Realtor brand to best meet the needs of our members and their consumers—as we always have and will continue to do. To be clear, this issue is about Realtor association membership. NAR policy does not require that participants be members of a Realtor association to access an MLS. MLS participation is determined at the local level. NAR continues to promote competition and stands by pro-consumer local broker marketplaces.”

In addition to this move by PAR, Alabama Association of Realtors (AAR) has also asked NAR if it would consider greater flexibility by allowing members to decide which levels of Realtor associations they would like to join.