Real Estate Agents: Why does it cost so much to be apart of the Association of Realtors?
Bottom line – you get to operate in the most efficient manner possible for our industry. I am a broker and Realtor member (14 years). At first, I had the same general feeling as you do, but soon came to realize what some of the additional expense was all about. First, the MLS is owned by Realtors through its individual associations….considering what it does, I’m sure anyone would agree that MLS is something that someone in the sales business should have. From this perspective, it’s a hook that allows them to charge what they will for the association fee. It is also arguable that MLS access fees alone are cheap when considering the function MLS plays…(cell phone contracts cost way more). It may be that MLS is partially subsidized by our annual dues, but I don’t know this for a fact. As others have mentioned, we do some advertising too. This no doubt takes a chunk of our dues. Most state organizations have a legal hotline that’s there to use for members…I’m in WI, and ours is very
