Members of the Akron Area Board of Realtors voted by a wide margin Wednesday to merge with the Cleveland Area Board of Realtors.
About 69 percent of the votes cast were in favor of merging, Akron board President Tony DeLuke said.
Cleveland board members are voting online through Monday.
The vote comes after more than a year of merger discussions at both groups. Each has seen a decline in membership over the past 10 years.
Consolidated operations of two associations would provide for cost savings, according to the merger website: www.akronclevelandrealtors.com.
Both the Cleveland and Akron boards charge $190 a year for local dues, and dues for the unified organization would remain the same in 2014. After that, the board of directors would set dues annually during the budgeting process, according to the website.
The new group would be called the Akron Cleveland Association of Realtors, and the current Cleveland board and Akron board buildings are to be retained by the new association.
“The locations may be consolidated at some point in the future, but both buildings are under lease through 2016,” a statement said.
The statement, however, goes on to say, “It was clear that through merger members of both associations will have increased access to services through multiple locations.”