Josh Burdine

It’s easy to judge another industry from the outside, with ideas formed by what we see on TV, hear on the news or experience through our friends. But not all stories and stereotypes are true. The best way to debunk myths about an industry? Turning to those who know it best.

The Myth: Realtor associations are all about sales.

The Truth: Realtor associations do provide tools to help their members with sales, but there’s a lot more to them than that. “We also care about private property rights. We spend a lot of time, effort and energy in it for anybody who owns property, whether you work with a Realtor or not,” says Josh Burdine, president of Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association and broker associate with Rockstar Realty.

Lee County-based Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association, for one, regularly works to update laws in favor of property owners. In the last few years, the association has worked with state legislators to reduce sales tax imposed on commercial rental payments from 6% to 5.7% (the tax is slated to drop to 5.5% next year, Burdine says). The group has also helped resolve the issue of open or expired building permits that can slow up a home sale, and they helped green light remote notarization in Florida to make the process of signing contracts more efficient. In a joint effort with the Florida Association of Realtors and other realtor associations across Florida, the team supported Gov. Ron DeSantis in the $682 million in budget initiatives that went toward supporting statewide environment issues and priorities. All of these things were accomplished with more than just Realtor association members in mind.

“The overall goal [for Realtor associations] is the protection of private property rights and for people to be able to use their property—within reason—at their will,” Burdine says.