CEO Update: Q1 2026
CEO Update: Q2 2026
Q2 - July 30, 2026
The first six months of 2026 have certainly passed by like a strong seasonal breeze. I often wonder where the time goes. As someone once told me, the older you get, the quicker it goes, and I'm finding that to be an extremely true adage. Administratively, the second quarter was busy and productive. We finalized the new building and coordinated the move of staff and services. With all new builds, we are working through some fine-tuning. Staff hopes that the members who may have attended our small welcome event earlier in June or have been able to stop and see the new space have found it welcoming and functional.
Association & MLS Membership
In our Q1 2025 update, I outlined our 'cyclical membership decline. Not to beat that drum, but for newer readers this means that we see ebbs and flows monthly, but at the end of each calendar year we historically see a decline. This is driven by members who were active at the end of November and were inactive at the end of December. In my tenure with the group, I've seen that shift as high as 20% and as low as 11%.
While we don't have specific facts about why a member chooses non-renewal, we acknowledge that it surrounds many factors, which can include industry requirements as well as other personal matters. The trend is that within the first quarter of a new year, the previously mentioned declines are negated either by the return of an inactive member or the joining of a new member. The MLS business has historically followed a very similar pattern.
At the end of June 2026, the Association membership increased over Q1 numbers by 3.47% and increased over the May numbers by 1.1%. While the overall values are down a small amount over the same time period in 2025, the positive increase tracks with historical trends.
In review of the MLS, we see a slightly stronger increase over Q1; a total increase of 4.59% and 1.6% over May reporting. I believe this is attributable to both our robust benefits, positive customer service feedback, and more agents listing in our areas whose primary association membership is elsewhere.
Staff supported just under 400 new members in the quarter ending June 30th. Along with these new applicants, we also hosted 173 new agents through new member orientation.
Advocacy
With 2026 being an election year, the Public Policy Office has been busier than ever. This election is critical for REALTORS®, homeowners, and property owners. Realtors from RPCRA participated in the candidate screening process, interviewing more than 30 candidates for local, state, and federal offices to make sure the Realtor voice is always considered when elected officials are creating policy. You can see RPCRA's endorsed candidates by clicking here.
Vote by mail is now underway. If you have a vote by mail ballot, make sure you return it by mail or in person by 7:00 p.m. on August 18 for the Primary Election. Early voting begins on August 8 and continues through August 15. Make sure you vote and have your voice heard.
In May, RPCRA leadership and staff traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the annual NAR Legislative Meetings. Members took part in policy committee meetings and met with Senator Rick Scott and Senator Ashley Moody to advocate for important housing legislation, including the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, which has since been signed into law, and H.R. 1340, the More Homes on the Market Act. These two pieces of legislation are important steps toward addressing housing supply challenges across the country.
Professional Development
Members continue to engage in furthering their industry knowledge during the second quarter through our professional development offerings. As we hoped, we saw a spike in attendance as we opened the new multi-use space in May. For the quarter ending June 30th, we offered 32 different courses along with two lunch-and-learn events. We had 803 attendees participate in these events. Staff members continue to look for new and appealing topics, and we are happy to note that along with the 2 designation courses, we also had 4 completely new offerings as well. The new courses covered hot topics such as AI, Cybersecurity, as well as market and seller sustainability in the current marketplace.
The board is also excited to announce the return of the Professional Development Scholarship program in 2026 as well. For more information on that specific program, you can email education@rpcra.org or visit our professional development page at www.rpcra.org.
The board would also like to thank our committed sponsors (listed alphabetically) who graciously provided over $3,000 of financial support last quarter. A Handy Home Inspector, Elite Home Inspections, First Premier Mortgage Lending, FitzGerald Financial Mortgage, Holiday Builders, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Law Office of Sam Saad, Next Door Photos, State Insurance, V1 Real Estate Photography, VanDyk Mortgage.
Professional Standards
The second quarter of 2026 posts a significant increase in filed complaints. There have been ten (10) complaints, which include six (6) filed by consumers. We have noted increased involvement of the public post the NAR settlement. In review of the ten (10), two (2) have been dismissed due to the complainant not meeting the timelines stipulated around providing support for the complaint. One (1) has been completed through a formal ethics hearing, wherein the Respondent was found in violation of the Realtor® Code of Ethics. Seven (7) ethics complaints are in the process of going to formal hearing, and 1 case is being held in abeyance until a related arbitration matter is resolved.
The most common complaints received this quarter relate to Article 1, of "Duties to Clients and Customers" and Article 16, under "Duties to Realtors®". This speaks directly to the above-average number of complaints coming from the public.
On the arbitration side of the work, this quarter has seen three (3) cases filed. One has completed the mediation process required, but unfortunately, the dispute was not able to be resolved at mediation and will proceed to a formal arbitration hearing. One was withdrawn by the complainant upon resolution by the parties themselves, and one is scheduled for hearing, but the parties are speaking, and it may be resolved without the necessity of time and expense of a hearing.
Multiple Listing Services
The MLS & Technology team continued to bring forward enhancements to the solutions as well as delivering impactful education via the MLS Monday platform. We are also proud to note that all our MLS support staff are CMLS1 certified. This designation demonstrates our goal to have staff that have achieved certification in the industry that is focused on the basic operations of the MLS, industry structure, and providing exceptional customer service.
We successfully launched OneHomeowner, which serves as a relationship management and retention platform that provides participants with a comprehensive view of their client base, highlighting the long-term value of their relationships.
We launched the new Matrix CMA, which provides faster, smarter property insights. This tool allows the participants to guide pricing and provide each client with trusted, data-driven insights.
The governing body also approved changes to delayed marketing by increasing the number of days from seven (7) to fourteen (14). In continued work to allow flexibility to the participants, the board also approved the implementation of a coming soon status. While we don't have an exact rollout of that, we are in the work queue with our vendor partner, Cotality, to implement this new status.
Our MLS Monday webinar series has continued to be a consistent and valuable resource for members, taking place every Monday at 11:00 AM.
Stay tuned!
Sean O'Brien
Chief Executive Officer