Phoenix-area brokers will now have the option to obtain MLS access without association membership.

The program, known as MLS Choice, is offered by Phoenix REALTORS® at $249 annually. That’s less than half the cost of the traditional option, which includes membership to Phoenix REALTORS®, the Arizona Association of REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

Brokers who opt for MLS Choice will have access to the listing database, legal forms and training, but will not legally be able to call themselves “Realtors.” However, the choice expands options for brokers who don’t want to start or maintain association membership at the national or state level.

This program is contradictory to NAR’s “three-way agreement,” which asserts that agents should maintain membership — and pay dues — at the local, state and national level. The agreement has come under fire in recent antitrust lawsuits, although current president Kevin Sears affirmed the association’s position at the NAR NXT conference in early November, praising local and state associations and saying, “We need each other. We are all at our best when we work together.”

Phoenix REALTORS® CEO Andy Fegley said that while the association “will always support NAR,” it’s important to offer choices to real estate professionals.

“It is incumbent upon us to give real estate professionals the tools they need to conduct business in a fair and competitive way,” Fegley told Real Estate News. “We want to make sure that we’re serving the entire real estate population because that should be the aim of all of us.”