Maricopa Real Estate Company agent Eric Shaver started the “Maricopa Real Estate Forum” to provide local real Realtors with a place to come together and help keep Maricopa listings and sales among Maricopa Realtors.

“It’s meant to just get Realtors together,” Shaver said. “Phoenix Realtors are coming in and taking our listings and our market. If the local Realtors started working together, we’d all be able to help keep the listings here in Maricopa.”

He said Maricopa has a better chance of growing if the local Realtors control more of the market.

So he came up with the idea to provide a forum for local real estate agents to get together, share listings and help each other succeed.

According to the statement on the forum’s home page, the group is open to local real estate agents, lenders and title officers who would like to advertise or discuss anything regarding real estate in the area. The group quickly grew to 56 members, but not many members have been posting their listings.

“It’s starting slow,” Shaver said. “Some people are posting ads and we have some blogs, but there’s not much to it yet. I’m trying to grow it as much as I can, but it will take time.”

So far, the majority of posts in the group have been updates on the market from Shaver and his father Jay. Some local Realtors have posted ads, and activity on the page appears to be picking up.

According to HomeSmart Success owner Dayv Morgan, this time of year is often a slow time for real estate agents in Maricopa. Despite the success the local real estate market has seen throughout the summer, a slump is still expected before the part-time residents arrive, he said.