WASHINGTON D.C.—The National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) Legislative Meetings kicked off in earnest Sunday, June, 1 as CEO Nykia Wright and members of a revamped leadership team took the stage in front of around 2,000 NAR members, all seeking signs that the organization’s promised turnaround will deliver real change.
Rated by enthusiasm, REALTORS® believe Wright and her team are on the right track.
A year ago in the same building, when NAR was reeling from a historic court loss and subsequent settlement agreement that some feared would prove a death knell for the industry, rank-and-file members brooded as NAR kept itself insulated and stuck to its talking points with the legal battles still raging.
The contrast could not have been greater this year, as a packed auditorium got a sharp, straightforward talk from Wright and several new faces on her team who offered substantial updates on key issues, and acknowledged—in plain language—challenges both in the past and the future.
In their first remarks at the event, Wright and NAR President Kevin Sears addressed three of the most hot-button topics currently percolating: hate-speech changes in the Code of Ethics, DEI and NAR’s budget.
Sears confirmed that the Professional Standards Committee “has made some recommendations” for changes to 10-5, the rule that bans hateful or discriminatory speech by REALTORS®.
“I want you to know that the recommendation has nothing to do with who’s sitting in the White House,” said Sears, which drew a smattering of incredulous laughter from the crowd.
According to Sears, NAR first began hearing from local associations about “ambiguity” in 10-5 rules around two years ago.
“We’ve got 1,100 local associations, which means we can have 1,100 different interpretations of the rule,” Sears said. He quipped that the reason the change wasn’t being made until now was because NAR “had some stuff going on” in 2023.
The final language of the changes have not yet been released, but NAR previously said that the focus is on a more specific definition of “harassment” and looking at how the rule is applied to REALTORS® “operating in their professional capacity.” The Board of Directors will vote on the changes on Thursday.
Apart from addressing policy questions, Wright and Sears did not shy away from acknowledging NAR’s struggles, with Wright referring drily to “yesterday, when NAR had money” at one point, and Sears acknowledging that big brokers are “rightfully” still angry they were excluded from NAR’s settlement.
“They’re upset and mad. We broke their trust overnight and now we have to slowly try and rebuild it,” Sears said.
“Breath of fresh air”
Wright herself seemed to spark much of the energy in the room. She received multiple enthusiastic rounds of applause and riffed with Sears over the course of a relatively dense 15-minute conversation, at one point ribbing him playfully for an alleged interruption, drawing laughter and ‘Ooohs’ from the crowd.
“I’m standing here loving this,” Spears cut in. “A breath of fresh air.”
But whether this new energy was enough to win back skeptics in the audience (and around the country) will likely depend on what Wright and her team eventually do, not her tone or stage presence.
One thing Wright did on Sunday was jump right into sensitive topics—namely, race and money.
On the subject of DEI, Wright claimed there was a “rumor” that she had “single-handedly” dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion efforts—more commonly known as DEI.
“I don’t know if people sort of see my complexion and recognize that I’m a woman, but that could not be further from the truth,” Wright said.
Without offering an endorsement or affirmation of DEI policies, Wright instead said that NAR’s goal is to “make sure that we have the best-in-class staff to get us through today’s transactions and tomorrow’s transactions.” She did not offer further details on staffing or investments in these initiatives, except to say that the advocacy team has “ramped up” its focus on Fair Housing over “several years.”
She added that Fair Housing principles “predate 2020, predate George Floyd,” referring to the murder of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer that sparked nationwide protests and subsequent commitments by many companies and organizations to DEI—many of which have been rolled back in recent months after significant pressure from the Trump administration.
“It is what all of the Alliance groups are coming to us and saying that they want more of, just in a different sort of nomenclature,” she said. ”DEI has not been crippled. We are just trying to be more strategic and talk to stakeholders.”
NAR’s former vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, Ryan Davis, appears to have been laid off as part of previously announced staff reductions that affected numerous departments. Davis’s LinkedIn page lists his role as ending in April.
Davis could not immediately be reached for comment.
Wright quickly pivoted to another difficult topic—finances. NAR “may” need “to pull out” another $32 million from the budget next year, based on shrinking REALTOR® dues and other economic headwinds, she said, with REALTOR® membership projected to fall to 1.2 million—down almost 25% from pandemic-era heights.
NAR also has another $72 million payment of its $450 million settlement coming due in February of 2026, Wright noted. Sears pointed out that on the positive side, NAR balanced its budget for the first time in a decade last year (requiring about $20 million in cuts, he revealed).
Sears also quickly dispelled any fear that dues would be raised next year, saying that instead, NAR would be asking directors to “carve out” around $10 from the $45 consumer ad campaign special assessment to bolster the budget.
Wright also promised more “accountability” and “transparency” regarding how NAR spends their money without providing further details, saying NAR had received significant feedback around those issues as part of an extensive outreach campaign.
The big picture
At the highest level, Wright clearly wanted to emphasize a different set of priorities for NAR at the conference, which comes at a very different moment of uncertainty as the economy teeters on tariffs and the threat of resurgent inflation.
Maybe the most notable change was what Wright and Sears didn’t say. Little time was spent lauding NAR’s recent successes or repeating some of the many platitudes regarding the industry’s resilience or values. She also avoided self-congratulatory plaudits or highlight-reel recaps of NAR wins
Instead, Wright kept the focus on the role that she is reimagining for the embattled REALTOR® organization.
“Yes, you can say that we are strong in advocacy. Yes, you can say that we are strong in research. Yes, you can say that we are getting stronger in education and training…you should also be able to not just cherry pick specific aspects of the business, but understand how NAR ‘brings the entire house,’” she said.
Both Wright and Sears used the term “basecamp” to describe an as-yet unrealized future for NAR operating as a more comprehensive support system that is designed to support all brokerages and agents on a tangible, practical level.
“At the end of the day, you should always be able to come back to NAR and understand how you can move to your next company, how you can move to the next tier in terms of profitability, how you can start your own brokerage. All of those things should be at ‘basecamp’—at NAR,” Wright said.
Some NAR critics are certain to hear the same promises simply reframed by a new set of voices. NAR’s missteps have cost many brokers millions of dollars and damaged the reputation of an industry deeply dependent on trust. Additionally, some of the more substantive NAR decisions in the last year or so—including to re-affirm Clear Cooperation and stand by the three-way agreement—have been to maintain the status quo, undercutting any promise of major change.
But Wright’s leadership style is undeniably different, and her interactions with members seems to have won her some level of trust from the REALTOR® community. Before the keynote, Wright spent several minutes in the audience chatting with REALTORS®, and her businesslike and focused speaking style clearly resonated with an audience that has grown tired of talking points, buzzwords and bad press.
After the address, Justin Farrell, an NAR director who described himself as someone who strongly doubted Wright’s ability to right the ship when she was first hired, showed RISMedia an email he wrote to Wright recently where he described how he had come around from a doubter to believing she is “the best person for the job.”
Wright responded it was the “kindest email ever,” finishing her message with an exclamation.
“Let’s win!” she wrote.
