Miami Realtors and RWorld Merger Creates the Largest Local Realtor Association in the U.S.

South Florida’s real estate industry is about to get a lot bigger — and a lot more centralized.

The Miami Association of Realtors and Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors (RWorld) announced that they are merging into a single association and MLS, creating a combined organization with about 93,000 members. That would make it the largest local Realtor association in the United States, and the organizations are also positioning it as the largest local Realtor association in the world.

The merger is scheduled to become effective on May 11, 2026. The proposed name of the combined organization is Miami and South Florida Realtors, although that name is still pending approval by the National Association of Realtors.

Who Is Merging

The merger combines two of the most powerful Realtor organizations in Florida:

• Miami Realtors, with about 56,000 members
• RWorld, with about 37,000 members

Together, they create a single association of roughly 93,000 members, more than twice the size of the next-largest local Realtor association in the country, according to the announcement and follow-up coverage.

This is not just an association merger. It also combines their MLS operations, which has major implications for listing access, data sharing, and how agents work across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie markets.

Leadership Structure

The new organization already has a leadership structure in place.

Alfredo Pujol, chairman of the board of Miami Realtors, will serve as the first chairman of the combined board. Jonathan Dolphus, president of RWorld, will serve as 2026 chair-elect and then 2027 chairman of the board. Katherine Arteta is next in line as 2027 chair-elect.

On the executive side, Teresa King Kinney, CEO of Miami Realtors, and Dionna Hall, CEO of RWorld and BeachesMLS, will serve as co-CEOs through the end of 2026. After Kinney retires at the end of 2026, Hall is expected to remain as the sole CEO.

The organizations also said their division boards will remain in place, which suggests they are trying to scale up without completely erasing the local identity of each group.

What Changes for Realtors

The biggest immediate benefit being promoted is simplified access to MLS data, tools, and services across South Florida.

According to the announcement, members will gain access to a broader, combined data set and will be able to work across a much larger geographic footprint without dealing with the friction of multiple memberships and fragmented systems. The merged organization also said members will have access to both Flexmls and Matrix, giving them two MLS platform options.

The combined entity is also expected to become the third-largest MLS in the country, behind Bright MLS and the California Regional MLS, based on T3 Sixty’s 2025 MLS rankings cited in reporting. It would also become the largest MLS owned by a single U.S. Realtor association.

In addition, the merged organization said it will include access to 11 data exchanges with some of the largest MLSs in the U.S. and Canada, and it plans to launch membership in the Global Data Exchange (GDX) for cross-border public listing data sharing. That matters in South Florida, where international reach is a real competitive advantage rather than just a marketing phrase.

Why This Matters in South Florida

This merger matters more in South Florida than it would in many other regions because this is one of the few U.S. markets where agents routinely work across multiple counties, multiple price tiers, and a heavy international client base.

In practice, South Florida buyers, sellers, and investors often search across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie depending on price, lifestyle, tax strategy, commute, and inventory. A more integrated association and MLS structure could reduce friction in that process.

For brokers and agents, the pitch is straightforward: broader coverage, more complete listing access, fewer barriers between markets, and potentially a simpler operating environment. For consumers, the claimed upside is better service and more seamless data access through their Realtor.

What It Could Mean for Miami Real Estate

For Miami specifically, this merger reinforces something bigger: South Florida is increasingly behaving like one integrated mega-market.

That does not mean Brickell is the same as Boca or that Surfside is the same as Port St. Lucie. It means the business infrastructure serving those markets is consolidating because agents, clients, and capital already move across county lines. This merger formalizes that reality. That is a reasonable inference from the size, geography, and stated goals of the organizations.

For the Miami market, the implications are likely to include:

• more unified exposure for listings across the region
• easier cross-county collaboration among agents
• stronger MLS data reach
• greater operational scale for one of the country’s most active real estate corridors

That said, bigger is not automatically better. Large organizations can also become more bureaucratic, and it remains to be seen how smooth the practical integration of systems, governance, and culture will be over time. The organizations are calling this the fastest and most seamless merger in NAR history, but the real test will be execution after launch.

Part of a Bigger Industry Trend

This merger is not happening in isolation. It fits a broader industry pattern of consolidation among Realtor associations and MLSs.

Reporting on the deal specifically notes that the industry has been shrinking the number of separate MLSs and associations in recent years, driven by pressure for scale, cleaner data access, and more efficient regional operations. Other local mergers have been announced recently as well, including in Texas.

That broader trend matters because the traditional MLS landscape in the U.S. has long been criticized as too fragmented. South Florida is now moving in the opposite direction: fewer silos, more scale, and wider data distribution.

The Bottom Line

The Miami Realtors–RWorld merger is a major structural shift for South Florida real estate.

If it proceeds as announced, the result will be a 93,000-member organization, effective May 11, 2026, with a proposed new name of Miami and South Florida Realtors, pending NAR approval. It will also create one of the largest MLS operations in the country and the largest MLS owned by a single Realtor association in the U.S.

For agents, this is about scale, data, and reduced fragmentation. For consumers, it could mean broader access and smoother service across county lines. For South Florida, it is another sign that the region’s real estate market is no longer just local — it is increasingly operating as one of the most powerful and interconnected property ecosystems in the country.

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