T3 Sixty, the residential real estate brokerage industry’s leading management consulting and research firm, has released the 2021 Organized Real Estate 200 (ORE 200), its annual list of all U.S. state and local Realtor associations and all U.S. MLSs by membership size.
The 2021 ORE 200, which presents membership counts as of December 31, 2020, shows the nation has1,069 local Realtor associations, 556 MLSs and 51 state associations (Washington, D.C., is counted separately). The data also reveal continued consolidation among local associations and MLSs.
The 1,069 local associations recorded in the 2021 ORE 200 is 19 fewer than existed at the end of 2019. While some local associations are consolidating, most have seen an increase in membership of just over 5 percent. The number of local Realtor associations dropped 1.7 percent from 2020 to 2021; the average member count and median member count of local associations grew 5.6% and 6.4%, respectively, over that time period.
Of the 556 MLSs in the country at the end of 2020, 108 are regional MLSs (a regional MLS is defined as either owned by two or more Realtor associations or serve regional markets), and 448 are local MLSs, which have a single Realtor association owner
The ORE 200 shows that the MLS industry years long wave of consolidation is continuing, although it certainly slowed down in 2020. Six years ago there were just over 800 MLSs, as compared to the 556 MLSs at the end of 2020. From 2020 to 2021 the median subscriber count per MLS grew 18.8 percent, while the average subscriber count per MLS grew 9.8 percent.
The three largest state associations track with those states’ populations, with California, Florida and Texas leading the pack and the only associations with membership counts above100,000 Realtors. Together, these three state associations have 534,462 members (brokers and agents), accounting for more than one third (36.6 percent) of the nation’s total Realtor membership. As these three states only account for 26 percent of the nation’s population, this stat reflects the outsized role real estate plays in those states.
“Every year in the ORE 200, we track how organized real estate is growing and changing, and 2021 highlights the local Realtor association and MLS growth and consolidation we’ve been hearing about,” said Clint Skutchan, T3 Sixty vice president of organized real estate. “Many organizations are looking at how they can increase their service and achieve economies of scale by growing larger and partnering with others; the 2021 ORE 200 shows us to what extent this is happening.”
All three ORE 200 lists can be found at realestatealmanac.com. The ORE 200, released online each February, is the second section of the Real Estate Almanac from T3 Sixty, an annual compendium of everything real estate.
About T3 Sixty
T3 Sixty is a trusted advisor and management consultancy in the residential real estate brokerage industry. T3 Sixty also provides extensive data services and research to effect intelligent change and growth. For more, visit t360.com
About the Real Estate Almanac
The Real Estate Almanac is an annual comprehensive compendium of information of the residential real estate brokerage industry’s most powerful and influential people, largest companies and organizations and its most important technologies. The publication has five components: the SP 200, a ranking of the nation’s most powerful leaders (released online each January); the ORE 200, a ranking of the nation’s largest MLSs and Realtor associations (released online each February); the Tech 500, the nation’s leading technology vendors (released online each March); a ranking of the nation’s largest franchisors, holding companies and enterprises (released online each April); and the Mega 1000, a ranking of the nation’s 1,000 largest brokerages (released online each May). Together, these comprise the Real Estate Almanac. More information at realestatealmanac.com.