Florida Realtors has come out against a bill in the state legislature that would abolish the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC).
House Bill 1461 eliminate nearly all the state boards and commissions tasked with regulating professions under the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. In testimony before the legislature, Florida Realtors CEO Margy Grant voiced the organization’s opposition to the elimination of the FREC.
“The Florida Real Estate Commission has been a trusted and experienced partner to consumers and real estate professionals for more than 100 years,” said Grant. “Eliminating FREC would have a significant negative impact on both consumer protection and Florida’s real estate industry, which is a major economic driver within our state.”
“Unlike many regulated professions, real estate involves legal responsibilities, public trust and potentially significant risks to consumers who are often making the largest financial investment of their life,” added Grant. “Removing FREC from the regulation of the real estate profession is too big a risk to take.”
The bill is currently making its way through House committees. If the full House passes the bill, it would need to gain Senate approval before it can be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor has not publicly commented on the bill.
Is Blackrock behind this?
I’m not a Florida Realtor but question what is the positive argument to eliminate this board?
Does this board exceed NAR rules? Or an attempt to eliminate all form of regulation protection for the consumer?
You take away commissions, there are no more Realtors. Good luck with that one. It’s a poor bill and no real logic behind it.
They are not trying to take away commissions, read the article
Perhaps what was meant by that is if there is no governing body, then the idea of being a real estate agent, let alone a REALTOR© does not exist. Without a state licensing board holding the players to set standards anyone could claim to be a real estate agent and it would be like the wild west. Sounds ugly to me.
With Rocket acquiring Redfin and wanting to create an “end to end” real estate buying process, I think we’ll see more of this type of stuff getting pushed through. As always you have to ask who would benefit from this.
This is unfortunate; but predictable in light of the NAR caving to a settlement last year!
There will be other States that follow Floridas actions…
Better to remove NAR than the state’s Real Estate Commission.
Agree Jay!
Totally agree Jay.
Agree!!!
THIS.
I don’t understand why we, Realtors(r), are not being handled in the news and with consumers the same as any other licensed professional that are required to take CE, sustain code of ethics, maintain E&O, and hold fiduciary duties. We aren’t hearing these discussions surrounding attorneys, CPA’s, therapists, financial advisors, etc…..
When Zillow and others got access to MLS data it was over. It’s only a matter of time hence most real estate transactions will be online between buyer and seller. Zillow already has all documents online for lease agreements. Redfin makes the transition even closer. I was an appraiser when Zillow first started and all heard was “but Zillow says my house is worth x. Back hen they didn’t have the data and their values were way off. Not so much now. NAR screwed the industry and any “realtor” still paying dues to a bankrupt dysfunctional organization should save the money for better use.
Zillow has employees that are on the board of directors of NAR – their headquarters is practically in the same building as Zillow
You hit the nail on the head. NAR sold out every realtor and still expects us to pay them yearly dues. For what? Waste of my money. Had to renew my license at the end of 2024 but I just can’t justify being forced to belong to the NAR so I put my license in inactive status for a while. Hopefully in the next two years the requirement to join the NAR in order to practice real estate will be a thing of the past. I can then reactivate my license and work for a brokerage that isn’t forced to be a member of that outdated organization that doesn’t represent me.
The House Bill 1461, proposes removing all regulatory boards and “commissions” (not realtor earned income but actually a group) to reduce bureaucratic oversight that they feel can enhance efficiency, lower costs or stimulate economic activity. The tasks handled by the FREC (Florida Real Estate Commission) would be handled by the DBPR (Department of business and professional regulation). This is no way affects what realtors are paid
Statement on HB 1461 and the State of Our Industry
When Realtor.com partnered with Zillow, the game changed — and not for the better. That was the start of a shift where real estate became just business, not a profession.
Now with House Bill 1461 aiming to abolish FREC, it’s clear: they want to strip us of our status as licensed professionals while still charging us fees, pushing useless continuing education, and forcing us to use outdated systems like Matrix.
This isn’t support — it’s exploitation. We’re not being treated as professionals anymore, just revenue streams in a broken system.
— A Florida Realtor Who’s Had Enough
Matrix! It’s awful. And their cloud CMA stuff actually isn’t as helpful as Zillow (ironically)…
I don’t care for renting Supra every year, either
End to end real estate transaction system = StoneARX.com