Commercial Brokers Association

What Commercial Brokers Association does

Commercial Brokers Association (CBA) is a broker-owned cooperative founded in 1977, headquartered in Lynnwood, Washington, that operates as the primary commercial Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the Pacific Northwest. The organization serves 4,000+ broker and affiliate members across Washington and Idaho, providing an integrated platform that combines verified commercial property listings (17,250+ active listings), market research tools (CBAcma with 34,000+ sale comparable records spanning 20+ years in major counties), standardized Washington and Idaho legal forms (Legal Library PRO), continuing education, networking events, arbitration, and industry lobbying. Its core technology stack includes a public-facing website (commercialmls.com), a member portal (Member Compass at membership.commercialmls.com), and an API that allows brokerages to populate listings on their own websites from CBA's verified database. The platform's differentiation rests on data accuracy, decades of broker-contributed market intelligence, and a multi-service member relationship that extends well beyond listings aggregation.

CBA's business model is membership-driven and recurring. The organization generates revenue primarily through subscription-style membership dues paid by individual brokers, brokerage firms, appraisers, and affiliate CRE organizations (attorneys, lenders, developers, title companies), with pricing that is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. A premium CBA Pro Upgrade tier adds incremental subscription revenue, while transaction-based revenue comes from annual signature events — most notably the CBA Golf Tournament, which offers sponsorships ranging from $500 (Driving Range) to $5,000 (Tournament Sponsor) plus foursome registrations at $900. Customer acquisition is sales-led through the CBA website and member portal, supported by event-driven engagement (golf tournament, continuing education classes), multi-channel content marketing (newsletter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), and member referrals. Strategic technology partnerships with ExceedCE (on-demand continuing education) and The CE Shop (residential CE) extend the education distribution footprint, while ongoing Idaho CE expansion signals geographic product extension into CBA's second operating state.

Name

Commercial Brokers Association

Legal name

Commercial Brokers Association

Website

https://commercialmls.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Commercial Brokers Association is a member-owned cooperative founded in 1977 that operates a commercial real estate Multiple Listing Service for 4,000+ brokers, brokerage firms, appraisers, and affiliate organizations across Washington and Idaho, providing verified listings, market research, legal forms, education, and networking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate MLS Services

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Real Estate Brokerage (Leasing & Sales) (FSAEAJAB)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate MLS
• Commercial property listings
• Real estate market data
• Commercial brokerage services
• CRE member network

Headquarters

HQ city

Lynnwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: CBA generates revenue through membership dues from brokers, brokerage firms, appraisers, and affiliate CRE organizations. Membership provides access to the MLS platform, research tools, legal forms, education, and networking opportunities.
2. Event Sponsorships and Registrations: Revenue from signature events including golf tournament sponsorships (Tournament Sponsor at $5,000, Golf Cart Sponsor at $2,500, Hole Sponsor at various price points) and individual golfer registrations.
3. CBA Pro Upgrade: Premium membership tier offering enhanced tools and services beyond standard membership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Commercial Brokers Association (CBA) is a member-owned cooperative operating a commercial Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the Pacific Northwest. It provides verified commercial property listings, market research and analytics (CBAcma), standardized Washington and Idaho legal forms and contracts (Legal Library PRO), continuing education, networking, and association management services to commercial real estate brokers, brokerage firms, appraisers, and affiliate CRE organizations.

Product overview

Commercial Brokers Association (CBA) operates as a broker-owned commercial real estate Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serving Washington and Idaho since 1977. The organization provides an integrated system of market research, listings services, legal contracts, networking, and education to CRE professionals. The core product portfolio centers on CBAcma (market research and analysis), Legal Library PRO (standardized contracts), Commercial Listings Search (property listings), Business Opportunities Search, Education & Events (continuing education and signature events like the annual Golf Tournament), Member Network (professional networking), Member Compass Portal (member dashboard), and API Data Access (for website integration). The architecture is a unified platform with multiple interconnected modules serving brokers, appraisal firms, and affiliate organizations in the Pacific Northwest commercial real estate market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CBAcma: Commercial Property Market Analytics - sales comparable records database maintained by CBA
• Member Compass

Products and services

• CBAcma (Commercial Market Analysis)

Quantifiable outcome

• 125,000+ commercial property records available for research
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Washington State Department of LicensingminorOthersCBA supports members with license renewal information and resources for Washington State real estate broker licensing requirements, directing members to the WA DOL for official licensing processes.
• ExceedCEcoreTechnology or IntegrationCBA partners with ExceedCE to provide on-demand continuing education classes for commercial real estate professionals. Members access CBA CRE classes through the ExceedCE portal at exceedce.com.
• Washington Business WeekminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCBA Golf Tournament proceeds are partially donated to Washington Business Week in honor of Chris McDougall, supporting youth leadership and business education programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Buildout: Software platform focused on commercial real estate marketing, listing automation, and broker tools — adjacent to CBA's MLS offerings but with a stronger emphasis on broker-side workflow and marketing automation.
• Crexi: Fast-growing commercial real estate marketplace and data platform targeting brokers with listings, comps, and AI tools — a modern, venture-backed competitor pursuing the same broker customer segment as CBA.
• Office Space: CRE marketplace and leasing platform aggregating office, retail, and industrial listings — competing with CBA's regional listings search for tenant and landlord representation work.

Broad incumbents

• CoStar Group: Largest commercial real estate data and analytics platform globally, offering listings, comparables, and market intelligence that overlaps with CBA's research and listings products but at vastly greater scale.
• LoopNet: Operated by CoStar, LoopNet is the dominant online CRE listings marketplace where brokers advertise properties — a national alternative to CBA's regional listing aggregation model.
• Altus Group (Reonomy): Provides commercial real estate data, analytics, and technology including the Reonomy property intelligence platform — competing with CBA in CRE data and market intelligence for brokers and investors.
• Yardi CommercialCafe: Yardi's commercial listings and marketing platform serves brokers and property owners with nationwide property listings, directly comparable to CBA's listings search and brokerage marketing tools.

Direct peers

• RealNex: Commercial real estate technology platform combining listings, market data, CRM, and deal management for brokers — a direct functional peer to CBA's integrated platform offering.
• Catylist: Commercial MLS platform serving brokers with property listings, market research, and comparable data — directly comparable to CBA's core research and listings offering for CRE professionals.

Others

• National Association of Realtors (Commercial Alliance): Industry association providing standards, education, advocacy, and member services across residential and commercial real estate — comparable to CBA's member association and lobbying functions, though at a national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubem.youtube.com/@cbaproductions9995
• Facebookfacebook.com/CBAmls
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/commercial-brokers-association
• Instagraminstagram.com/cba_mls
• Xx.com/CBAmls

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Commercial Brokers Association