The Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors® has announced merger with the Realtors® Association of the Palm

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors® (GFLR) has announced the member vote passed for the merger with the Realtors® Association of the Palm
Beaches (RAPB). This merger will form the third largest local Realtor® association in the nation
becoming the Realtors® of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale. According to the
National Association of Realtors® (NAR), this is the first local association merger of 2017.
“With a 99% passing rate, as well as the highest voter participation in the history of the RAPB,
our members turned out in record numbers to vote in support of the merger”. said Dionna Hall,
Chief Executive Officer of RAPB. Hall will be installed as the CEO of the merged Association
and MLS.
“I want to thank our members for showing up and; making their voice heard in today’s
GFLR+RAPB merger vote. This was the best turn out we’ve ever had for a member-driven
decision. I’m honored to represent GFLR & all of our dedicated members,” said Ron Lennen,
President of GFLR.
Association members will have more opportunity with leadership involvement and the ability to
bring forth ideas and issues that are very localized with Regional Boards in Western Broward
County, Eastern Broward County, Southern Palm Beach County, Northern Palm Beach County
and the Treasure Coast.
The merging of these two “mega boards” creates a rare opportunity for the Realtors® in Palm
Beach, Broward and St. Lucie Counties to have the best in class representing over 25,000
Association members and 30,000 MLS subscribers. The merged association’s multiple listing
services will carry more than 40,000 on-market listings, totaling over $21 billion in inventory.
This creates both a single source for homebuyers and greater exposure for sellers throughout the
Southeast coast of Florida. The company will become one of the ten largest MLSs in the United
States.
“We are very excited to bring our members together in being the voice of real estate for more
than a 100 mile span. After seeing our members overwhelming support, I’m confident that we
made the right decision for our Association and our local real estate market.” said John Slivon,
President of RAPB.
According to NAR, the national trend shows mergers and partnerships are becoming more
popular among Boards and Associations for a variety of reasons including overlapping markets,
similar services, geographic considerations, cost-savings, membership benefits and wider

recognition in the marketplace. NAR’s “core standards” have been a driving force in association
mergers and dissolutions involving tens of thousands of Realtors®. The “core standards”
mandate a minimum level of service from location associations.