The word "merger" brings Florida to mind.
The historic May union of Miami REALTORS® and Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie REALTORS® (RWorld)—notable for its size, speed and inclusion of its MLSs—and the July addition of Martin County REALTORS® of the Treasure Coast has sparked renewed conversation and curiosity about mergers.
Because of this, National Association of REALTORS® dedicated a session on the topic on Monday during its Leadership Summit in Chicago for incoming association presidents and executives. During the session, the association also unveiled its new pre-merger decision guide, which gives association leaders a framework for evaluating whether a merger makes sense for their organization,
So, what exactly is the process for REALTOR® associations?
Merging 101
The decision of whether local associations should merge rests entirely in the hands of its members. NAR maintains a neutral position on association mergers, viewing them as decisions best made at the local level.
"What we really want is for associations to be healthy, functioning and serving their members," NAR Director of Member Policy Daniel Doepke says.
Generally, it starts as a conversation among local leadership that turns into serious talks. Those talks develop into the plan of merger, a document that spells out the terms and is signed by each association’s board of directors. Lastly, the decision comes down to a member vote, unless otherwise specified in the association's bylaws or state law requirements.
When associations are considering a merger, NAR recommends transparency with members.
"I always tell them just be forthright and honest and open as early as possible with your members," Doepke says when asked by local associations for advice.
NAR’s role is administrative. As a final step, the newly formed organization submits a merger application to NAR with a copy of minutes from the associations' votes.
"That's all we need to see, and then we will approve it," says Doepke. In 2025, 16 local association mergers took place.
NAR does offer resources to guide local associations through a merger. In addition to its new pre-merger decision guide with financial, legal and logistical considerations as well as sample agreement template, the association also has recommendations for third-party merger facilitators.
History Made: The Largest Local Merger
The historic south Florida union began over a bite of pizza between RWorld's president and Miami's Chairman, says Dionna Hall, co-CEO of the merged entity and former RWorld CEO.
One of the factors that drew RWorld to the table was the idea of unifying their multiple listing services: Beaches MLS and Miami MLS.
"We were deep data sharing [for a long time], which means that when a subscriber pulls up their MLS, our listings are actually side by side in the same view," Hall says. The MLSs also shared lockboxes and showings schedules. But Hall says there was still friction for brokers; for instance, needing to join both MLSs to get their respective IDX feeds and using two distinct data repositories.
"And now our brokers, within one week, had one data feed of the complete information," Hall says. "They can use that to power all their backend tools. They use it for all the products and services that they might feel best serve their brokerages."
After the pizza dinner in March, the talks progressed. Roughly two weeks later, the presidents and their CEOs, Hall and Teresa King Kinney of Miami, sat down.
"[We] had a four-hour lunch meeting and hammered out all the basics that we really needed to merge right there," Hall says. They reviewed each other's financial positions and discussed governance structures.
She adds, "The first thing, really, we established was trust, and that's hard for two competitors."
Between Kinney, Miami's CEO of 33 years, and Hall, who had been RWorld's CEO for about 11 years, there was a lot of experience in the room. They each, separately, had orchestrated the largest mergers in NAR history at the time; in 2010 and 2023. Because of these experiences, they didn't rely on third-party facilitators or a merger task force.
"Time is never on your side with mergers because there's always an excuse why something should not happen," Hall explains. "The best thing to do was for us to work through, really, the main parts that we had to agree to and then decide everything else as one entity."
That's where the newly merged organization is now: resolving those pre-merger differences—like creating one unified set of rules for its MLS—and building their future, pulling in the same direction.
You Don't Need to Be Mega: Cincinnati and West Central Florida's Stories
In 2022, Leslie Besl, who led an association of around 700 members, saw the appeal of a merger. The association struggled with filling committee positions and multiple presidents were serving second terms.
"We were recycling leadership and we had some really great, strong leaders for many years, but they were getting tired," says Besl, who had been chief staff officer of Butler-Warren Association of REALTORS® in Ohio.
Besl's team and the neighboring Cincinnati Area Board of REALTORS® went for it. Members of the Butler-Warren association were already primarily using Cincinnati's MLS.
"We were in a very solid financial position and a very stable organization and thought why not negotiate when we've got some bargaining power," Besl says.
They made a "wish list," including a name change, a more central office location, to preserve their scholarship program and to retain the qualifications that dictate its awards program. Cincinnati accepted it all.
"They were very open-minded, I think, and that made a difference," says Besl, who now serves as the merged organization's (REALTOR® Alliance of Greater Cincinnati) chief operating officer.
When the Cincinnati and Butler-Warren merger happened, the member-perception was overall positive and for both members and staff, the flood of resources was immediate.
"I was doing bookkeeping. I was doing marketing. I was doing government affairs. And with a larger association you have folks that are really specialized and excel in those areas. They can do more and have a greater impact," Besl adds.
Access to one complete view of the marketplace was the driving force behind a merger in Western Central Florida. In Hernando and Pasco counties, you had agents and brokers who were members of two local associations and two MLS systems.
The merger took roughly 13 months from inception to signing on the dotted line.
“There were many pieces that we had to come together like governance, bylaws, finances, staffing the facilities, the MLS service, our leadership representation, branding, member communication and just the overall culture of the two associations,” says Catherine “Cookie” Miller, president of West Pasco Hernando REALTORS®, who served as president of the West Pasco board.
Right now, each half is maintaining its brick-and-mortar offices, located roughly an hour apart, and meetings are alternating between the two or being duplicated to be mindful of long commutes.
While the merger is complete, the real integration effort continues. CEO Brenda Rabbitt explains they’re currently working on joining Hernando’s MLS with Stellar MLS, of which West Pasco is a shareholder. They’re also currently combining their two separate membership systems.
From medium to mega organizations, all association leaders stress that members are the North Star.
"Is this going to be in the best interest of our members? That's what we always came back to,” Miller says.
Alternatives to Mergers
In situations where a merger doesn’t feel like the right move, whether financially, culturally or just having different strategic visions. There are options to get some of these benefits without actually merging.
For instance, associations can establish a shared services agreement, where two or more associations agree to share the costs of an ongoing member service. By pooling money, staff and volunteers, they support a member benefit that neither would be able to shoulder alone.
Another example is a cooperative venture—that's when two or more local associations own and operate a separate entity, and share its risks, resources and revenue. The clearest example of this is when several associations own a regional multiple listing service.
There's also the option for one association to become a chapter of another, meaning a subunit of an existing, chartered association. This allows the two organizations to share services and funds while retaining separate identities, leaderships, functions and bylaws.
Advice for Local Association Executives
Hall's advice for associations considering a merger is to see the forest for the trees.
Hall says trying to cover every detail upfront is a mistake. “After the merger is really [when] it should happen, because that's when the best decisions are made—when you're all coming from the same place and mindset.”
Rabbitt suggests examining it from all sides.
“They need to take their time, do the due diligence, communicate early and often [to members] and listen to them,” she says. “We had a town hall at both locations and listened to their input. Ask difficult questions before you make decisions and make sure you have the right professional guidance along the way.”
Meanwhile, Besl says to keep an open mind, and put the member's concerns—like cost—front and center.
"I think our industry as a whole is stronger the more we can work together," she says.
