Realtor associations merge

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The Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors and the Genesee Valley Board of Realtors are merging.

For now, the organization will operate under the Buffalo Niagara Association name. A name change, which must be approved by the National Association of Realtors, will be considered at a later date, a release from the organizations states.

The merger will be finalized in two phases, first with BNAR taking over the day-to-day operations within the next 30 days. GVBR then must dissolve while BNAR amends its charter and jurisdiction, which also must be approved by NAR. 

Under the terms of the merger, BNAR will continue to operate a satellite office in Geneseo, to be run by GVBR’s part-time employee. Members of the GVBR voted Oct. 13 to dissolve their formal legal entity and bring the 125 existing brokers and agents into BNAR. 

Unification of Realtor associations is becoming more common nationwide as a means to control costs while enhancing member services, according to NAR. The move continues a trend of recent mergers for the Buffalo Niagara Association and its affiliated Multiple Listing Service, the Western New York Real Estate Information Service. Last year, the Niagara Frontier Board of Realtors merged with BNAR and the Genesee Valley MLS and Cattaraugus MLS merged with REIS, managed by the Buffalo Niagara Association. REIS is part of the recently formed New York State Alliance of MLSs, a partnership with the Genesee Regional Information Service and Central New York Information Service, which covers a large portion of  property listings Upstate. For more information visit www.bnar.org.