Two Florida REALTOR® associations have announced a merger that will form the third-largest REALTOR® association, as well as one of the 10 largest multiple listing services (MLSs), in the U.S.
Greater Fort Lauderdale REALTORS® (GFLR) and the REALTORS® Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB) will become the REALTORS® of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale, serving more than 30,000 real estate professionals. The new association will maintain all six local service centers run by GFLR and RAPB.
The new association’s MLS will house over 40,000 listings. Members of the new association will have the option to choose between FlexMLS and Matrix.
“Our reimagined association will bring localized service to our members while harnessing our strength and size to provide cutting-edge technology and influential advocacy,” says Dionna Hall, CEO of RAPB and future CEO of the new association. “The organization will place even more emphasis on integrating key technologies.”
“The partnership will create significant opportunities for our members, first by expanding the geographic territory of our association, as well as the number of members, to dramatically amplify the amount of listing exposure and targeted leads they can generate,” says John Slivon, president of RAPB and future president of the new association. “Second, we can save hundreds of dollars for our members that currently belong to both associations. Ideally, they can redeploy this money for marketing programs and other methods to grow their business.”
“In today’s hyper-connected consumer world, REALTORS® need every advantage possible,” says Rick Barkett, CEO of GFLR, who will be retiring once the merger is complete. “By combining our associations, increasing our size, creating regional boards that understand the unique needs of localized markets, offering greater resources, and investing in the newest technology, we are quite literally giving our members every advantage possible.”
“With the combined strengths of RAPB and GFLR, we will be able to help our members better leverage the tools we offer and ensure that we are helping them learn how to best serve the needs of their clients with our technologies and industry and consumer trend education,” says Ron Lennen, president of GFLR and future president-elect of the new association.
For more information, please visit www.supportmerger.com.
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