The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) provided the second quarterly update on its new strategic plan, as the organization has promised more transparency and a holistic turnaround after facing years of backlash in the wake of the commission lawsuits.
In a statement, NAR CEO Nykia Wright, who took the reins with a mandate to make significant changes to the organization, sought to reemphasize NAR’s commitment to advocacy—a strength long recognized both inside and outside real estate—and its renewed commitment to directly supporting members.
“NAR’s responsibility, executed through our Strategic Plan, is to deliver strong advocacy, clear guidance and applicable tools to help you serve your clients, grow your business and lead in your communities,” she said.
The update, focused on Q2 2026, highlighted the recently passed federal housing bill, which the industry has largely celebrated as a landmark moment. NAR wrote that its “role in this passage will address supply and affordability challenges,” and said it used “the full weight of its advocacy operation” to get the legislation across the finish line.
“Few organizations can bring that combination of grassroots reach, policy expertise and political influence to bear,” NAR wrote.
Other actions or events that NAR highlighted in Q2 included legal wins, starting with a settlement in the buyer commission cases (which still must receive final approval from a judge) as well as the launch of a “cross-departmental brand protection team” to safeguard Realtor® branding and trademarks.
The new strategic plan, formally approved last November, came with a promise that NAR would “pivot” if it is “not meeting expectations” with the plan’s goals, which encompass 75 projects across 24 initiatives, ranging from a legal risk assessment to budget “transformation.”
NAR previously provided a Q1 2026 update, highlighting different aspects of the plan.
For the most part, NAR has sought to take a much less active role in ongoing policy disputes and industry shifts, stepping back specifically from most MLS mandates—though it still highlighted its “clarification” of some of the rules at the center of private listing-related disruption.
The organization also pointed to its letter to the FTC which characterized the MLS ecosystem as a pro-consumer bulwark against “the largest brokers, portals or technology companies,” who would “likely” control the market if it weren’t for the MLS to the detriment of consumers.
Another closely watched priority in the strategic plan, NAR touted 17 in-person events across 13 states, “reaching” 2,000 brokers as part of its commitment to strengthen engagement with real estate business leaders.
NAR has faced particularly sharp pushback from the owners of companies who were cut out of its settlement in the Burnett case, with some banding together on a mission to “restore trust” in NAR by demanding specific reforms.
Other highlights from the Q2 strategic plan update included sunsetting or restructuring four more committees, initial “refreshing” of educational offerings and providing new market data and insights through its Housing Shortage Tracker and Metro Market Statistics dashboards.
