The Alabama Association of Realtors (AAR) is asking the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to provide greater flexibility by allowing members to decide which levels of Realtor associations they would like to join.
AAR made the request in a letter sent Monday to NAR CEO Nykia Wright. AAR CEO Jeremy Walker and President Senia Johnson signed the letter.
Currently, licensed Realtors in Alabama must join their local, state and national Realtor associations.
In a statement on its website, AAR said that “while we are proud to be part of the Realtor organization and fully support NAR’s federal advocacy efforts, we remain committed to serving the specific needs of our Alabama members.”
The state trade group went on to say that, over the past year, AAR members have expressed concerns “regarding developments at the national level” of the association.
Additionally, AAR notes that “there is a growing and vocal desire for greater choice and flexibility in deciding where members spend their hard-earned membership and dues dollars. Members have expressed that they feel constrained within the current membership structure that requires them to join the local, state, and national levels. This sentiment is widespread across Alabama, in rural and urban areas, and among both small and large companies.”
The letter also addressed the fact that NAR is currently facing legal challenges regarding its membership structure. This includes the Hardy suit, which was filed last month by a group of brokers in Michigan. The plaintiffs allege that the requirement that all Realtors and brokers in Michigan be members of NAR, their state Realtor association and a local board of Realtors represents an antitrust violation.
“As more members express their frustration with an organizational structure that they believe does not work for them or that they do not want to be a part of, these frustrated members are actively looking for alternatives to REALTOR membership,” Walker and Johnson wrote in their letter.
“If we fail to act, we may lose these members forever. However, by allowing greater flexibility, we may be able to retain them as members at one or more levels of the organization, based on where they see the most value and choose to belong. We believe that empowering our members with this decision-making ability will be in the best interests of the organization in the long term.”
Alabama Realtors are urging NAR to look into this matter as soon as possible with the 2025 billing cycle for dues quickly approaching.
In an emailed statement, a NAR spokesperson wrote that NAR is still reviewing the letter.
“Like other national membership organizations, NAR has an integrated membership model, which empowers REALTORS®—and the consumers they serve—with access to localized resources and services while also benefitting from a national voice, a unified advocacy platform, and a single Code of Ethics. In Alabama, this is how NAR was able to secure landmark wins for more than 18,000 Alabama REALTORS®, including a favorable decision in the Alabama eviction moratorium case at the U.S. Supreme Court and release of liability as part of our proposed settlement related to broker commissions,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “State and local associations set their own dues, but NAR’s annual membership dues of $156 dollars help to make these and other member services possible.”
This is not the first time compulsory membership of NAR has been challenged in Alabama. A previous lawsuit found that compulsory membership with NAR to gain access to the MLS is an unfair restraint of trade. As a result, NAR transferred the mandatory membership requirement to state and local associations.
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