Greater Rochester Association

What Greater Rochester Association does

GRAR (Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS) is a 3,000+ member non-profit professional trade association serving real estate agents, brokers, and appraisal professionals in the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Founded in 2001 and headquartered at 3445 Winton Place, Suite 220, Rochester, NY 14623, the organization operates with 11 staff and is affiliated with the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) and the New York State Association of REALTORS (NYSAR). It is governed by a Board of Directors under CEO Jim Yockel and CFO Sheila Corrigan.

The association's core product is regional MLS access, delivered through UNYREIS (Upstate New York Real Estate Information Services LLC), a joint venture with CNYIS and WNYREIS operating under the NYSAMLSs umbrella. Underlying technology includes the Matrix MLS platform integrated with ShowingTime for scheduling, Supra and SentriLock electronic keyboxes, TransactionDesk with AuthentiSign for e-signatures, Realist for property data, RPR for market analytics, Domus for market statistics, and a Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) Trestle data partnership. A distinguishing capability is Ardi, an AI-powered 24/7 multilingual member assistant supporting 25 languages, built with Voiceflip and now deployed by nearly 30 other associations and MLSs nationally. Education is delivered through the GRAR Real Estate School, supplemented by member advocacy, awards programs (including the Beyond Awards and a Legacy Award added in 2024), and the REBOOT Technology Conference.

GRAR's revenue model combines annual membership dues (GRAR plus MLS fees, with state and national dues pass-through to NYSAR and NAR), a five-tier affiliate membership program for service providers ranging from Copper at $250/year to Platinum at $7,500/year, event sponsorships, and tuition from the Real Estate School. Member engagement is driven through committees, awards, advocacy at the state level, and technology partnerships that integrate the MLS stack with widely adopted industry tools, reinforcing the cooperative value proposition for brokers and agents operating in the region.

Name

Greater Rochester Association

Legal name

Greater Rochester Association of Realtors

Website

https://grar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GRAR is a 3,000+ member non-profit trade association serving real estate professionals in the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region, providing MLS access through UNYREIS, education, advocacy, and the Ardi AI member assistant.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual dues from REALTOR® members, broker/owner members, and secondary members. Dues are pro-rated based on join date and are non-refundable. Military personnel have dues waived during active deployment.
2. MLS Fees: Annual MLS access fees charged to members for use of the Multiple Listing Service platform and associated tools.
3. Affiliate Membership Tiers: Tiered membership program for service providers to real estate professionals including attorneys, mortgage/lending, title insurance, and other industry vendors. Five tiers from Copper ($250/year) to Platinum ($7,500/year) with varying benefits.
4. Event Sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue from major events including Annual Awards Event, REBOOT Technology Conference, Young Professionals Network Olympics, 30-Year Member Luncheon, and Shredding Day.
5. Education Programs: Revenue from GRAR Real Estate School including licensing courses (77-hour salesperson course, broker licensing), designations, continuing education, and online classes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

GRAR is a 3,000+ member professional trade association serving real estate professionals in the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. The organization operates the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) through UNYREIS, delivers licensing and continuing education through GRAR Real Estate School, provides advocacy, dispute resolution, and member support, and deploys the proprietary Ardi AI assistant for 24/7 multilingual member service.

Product overview

Greater Rochester Association of Realtors (GRAR) is a 3,000+ member professional association offering a comprehensive real estate ecosystem. The core offerings include the GRAR Real Estate School for licensing and continuing education, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) through UNYREIS providing property listings and IDX data feeds, and the Member Portal with Find a Realtor and Find a Home tools. The association supports members with an AI-powered assistant called Ardi (24/7 support in 25 languages), Dispute Resolution Services (mediation, ethics complaints, arbitration), and Commercial Real Estate Resources. GRAR's technology platform is built around Matrix (primary MLS), supplemented by specialized modules including ShowingTime (scheduling), Supra (keyboxes), RPR (analytics), Realist (property data), Domus (market stats), MLS Touch (mobile app), OneHome (client portal), TransactionDesk/Transact (transaction management), RentSpree (rentals), and SavvyCard (marketing). The association also hosts the annual REBOOT Technology Conference and provides IDX data feeds through Trestle (Cotality/CoreLogic).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ardi: AI assistant providing 24/7 member service support in 25 languages, developed by GRAR in partnership with Voiceflip
• GRAR Real Estate School
• REBOOT Technology Conference
• Young Professionals Network (YPN)
• REALTORS Charitable Foundation

Products and services

• Multiple Listing Service (MLS) via UNYREIS Cooperative MLS database serving real estate professionals in the Greater Rochester and Upstate New York region, providing listing management, property search, IDX data feeds, and syndication to Realtor.com and other national portals. Operated as a joint venture through UNYREIS with the New York State Alliance of MLSs.
• Ardi AI Assistant Proprietary AI-powered member service assistant providing automated 24/7 multilingual support in 25 languages for GRAR members and members of partner associations. Developed by GRAR in partnership with Voiceflip.
• GRAR Real Estate School

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% of home buyers would use the same REALTOR® again (NAR statistic)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

AI capability2 records

Feature13 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VoiceflipcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership to develop 'Ardi' AI assistant for 24/7 member service in 25 languages. Originally created for GRAR members after hours, the technology has been adopted by nearly 30 associations and MLSs nationwide, making GRAR a technology innovator in the industry.
• Cotality (formerly CoreLogic)coreTechnology or IntegrationProvides Trestle™ Data Management Platform for distributing MLS data to broker-vendors. The New York State Alliance of MLSs uses Trestle for standardized data distribution across participating MLS organizations, enabling IDX data feeds and API access.
• NYSAMLSs (New York State Alliance of MLSs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture of UNYREIS (Rochester), CNYIS (Syracuse), and WNYREIS (Buffalo) that combines MLS databases. The alliance also includes data from Chautauqua-Cattaraugus, Cortland, Elmira-Corning, Ithaca, Jefferson Lewis, McKean PA, Mohawk Valley, and Otsego-Delaware MLSs.
• UNYREIS (Upstate New York Real Estate Information Services LLC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGRAR operates the MLS through UNYREIS, the Rochester-based MLS organization that is part of the NYSAMLSs joint venture. UNYREIS provides the MLS database and IDX program for the region.
• CNYIS (Central New York Information Service Inc)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of NYSAMLSs joint venture providing MLS data for the Syracuse/Central New York region.
• WNYREIS (Western New York Real Estate Information Services LLC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of NYSAMLSs joint venture providing MLS data for the Buffalo/Western New York region.
• CCIM InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial real estate affiliate providing Certified Commercial Investment Member designation and resources for commercial agents.
• The Counselors of Real EstateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial real estate affiliate providing counseling and advisory services expertise for real estate professionals.
• The Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial real estate affiliate providing property management credentials and resources.
• Realtors Land InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial real estate affiliate specializing in land sales and brokerage.
• The Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS (SIOR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial real estate affiliate for industrial and office property specialists.
• NYS Commercial Association of REALTORSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRochester Area Chapter of the state commercial realtors association providing commercial real estate networking and resources.
• National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational trade association affiliation providing Code of Ethics, professional standards, advocacy, research, and educational resources. GRAR members are automatically NAR members.
• New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState trade association affiliation providing legal guidance, business meetings, stories from across the Association, professional standards training, and state-level advocacy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Greater Syracuse Association of REALTORS: Regional REALTOR association for the Syracuse/Central New York market; operates MLS through CNYIS as part of NYSAMLSs alongside GRAR/UNYREIS, making it a directly comparable cooperative structure.
• Stellar MLS: Large regional MLS serving Florida and parts of the Southeast; comparable as a regional cooperative MLS offering listing infrastructure, IDX feeds, and member technology to multiple local associations.
• Bright MLS: Large multi-state regional MLS covering the Mid-Atlantic; comparable as a regional MLS cooperative serving multiple local REALTOR associations with shared technology and data distribution.
• MLS PIN: Regional MLS serving New England; comparable as a regional cooperative offering listing data, IDX feeds, and member technology to member real estate professionals and associations.
• California Regional MLS (CRMLS): Largest regional MLS in the U.S., serving associations across California; comparable as a multi-association MLS cooperative with shared technology and broker data feeds.
• Buffalo Niagara Association of REALTORS: Regional REALTOR association serving the Buffalo/Niagara region of Western New York; co-partner with GRAR in the NYSAMLSs joint venture and provides a directly comparable membership-and-MLS cooperative model.

Others

• Cotality (formerly CoreLogic): Real estate data and technology vendor providing the Trestle platform used by NYSAMLSs for MLS data distribution; comparable as a key infrastructure provider rather than a competitor.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of REALTORS (NAR): National umbrella trade association for the REALTOR brand, Code of Ethics, and federal advocacy; GRAR members are automatically NAR members and pay national dues as part of their GRAR membership stack.
• New York State Association of REALTORS (NYSAR): State-level REALTOR trade association to which GRAR is affiliated; offers overlapping services (advocacy, legal guidance, professional standards) but at the entire state of New York rather than the Rochester region.

Emerging players

• Voiceflip: AI technology partner that co-developed GRAR's Ardi assistant; comparable as an emerging player in conversational AI for real estate associations, with GRAR's deployment as a flagship customer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/JManSeminars247
• Xx.com/GRARealtors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/greater-rochester-association-of-realtors-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Greater Rochester Association