Five Realtors Associations to Combine

If bigger is better, a trio of Orange County realty groups is about to become part of the best. The East Orange County, Greater North Orange County and West Orange County Realtors associations are combining with the Rio Hondo and Greater Long Beach associations to form the largest Realtor association in the state.

The merger takes effect Jan. 1 and will create a single trade group chapter with 6,000 members in 28 cities in Orange and Los Angeles counties. The group, which will be called Pacific West Assn. of Realtors, should have more political clout and be able to provide more professional education and technology services to members, said interim president Rick Violett, a Yorba Linda broker. He is president of the Greater North Orange County realty group.

Realtor groups around the state have been consolidating over the past three years. The number of associations has dropped from 182 in 1993 to 132 now, according to the California Assn. of Realtors.

John O’Dell can be reached at (714) 966-5831 and at john.odell@latimes.com