Corcoran, Lake & Company, and John L. Scott affirm REALTOR® membership
October 20, 2023
Three prominent real estate brokerages, Lake & Company Real Estate, Corcoran Lifestyle Properties, and John L. Scott Real Estate have affirmed their continued membership with the Seattle King County REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
These commitments come amid news that national real estate franchisors RE/MAX and Anywhere Real Estate will no longer require NAR membership for their affiliated franchisees, as part of a class action court settlement announced October 6, 2023.
“We are grateful for the strong show of support from these brokerages and many others in our community,” said Sharon O’Mahony, President of the 7000 member Seattle King County REALTORS®. “REALTORS® are our industry's best, most ethical professionals, working together to make things better for all of us.”
Corcoran Lifestyle Properties, owned by Keoki and Stephanie McCarthy, is the first franchise within the Anywhere Real Estate company to announce publicly its continued commitment to Seattle King County REALTOR® membership since the court settlement.
The Corcoran announcement says the following: “NAR has been instrumental in the development of leaders within Corcoran Lifestyle Properties. Many of the company’s agents have held leadership positions in various REALTOR® organizations, a testament to NAR’s capacity to foster professionalism and growth. Stephanie McCarthy, Co-Founder & Owner of Corcoran Lifestyle Properties, stated, 'Our journey as a company is intertwined with NAR’s direction, and we are proud to maintain our membership.'"
The Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), which covers much of Washington state, is an independent and broker-owned MLS. It does not require brokerage firms to be members of NAR to access its house listing services. For local real estate firms, the incentive to maintain membership with NAR is based on the professional standards and advocacy the association provides for brokers.
Jason Wall, owner and designated broker of Seattle’s Lake & Company Real Estate, released a statement saying, “Our county and state Realtor associations are at the forefront of critical legislative initiatives, housing advocacy, and actively participate in issues that impact real estate professionals and homeowners at the local and state government levels…. As an independent brokerage, we possess the autonomy to make decisions that best serve our brokers and clients. In this moment I firmly believe that continued support for our local associations and local leadership is extremely important.” Lake and Company is the largest independent brokerage firm holding membership in the Seattle King County REALTORS®.
According to John L. Scott CEO Lennox Scott, his company supports membership in the National Association of REALTORS® and will continue to do so.
“I have been personally involved at NAR for the last 25 years, as have many of our Team members,” said Scott. “We would not be the same as an Industry without NAR. The national, state, and local levels of NAR have done so much to support our professionalism, clients, communities, and nation—from championing fair housing laws and working to eliminate housing discrimination to lobbying at a local level to creating legal and ethical duties that REALTORS® must adhere to. I am proud to be a REALTOR®. All of us together through REALTOR® Associations is what makes an impact in these areas.”
John L. Scott real estate has a long history in our region, with over 3000 sales agents in 100 offices throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Northern California.
Windermere Real Estate and Zillow Group also released statements last week, signaling their support for continued REALTOR® membership.
The Seattle Realty Board, the predecessor to Seattle King County REALTORS®, was one of 18 founding members of NAR in 1908.