NAR’s vow to brokerages: ‘New level of accountability’ coming
After a year of absorbing feedback from the industry’s largest brokerages, NAR leaders say the trade organization is ready to “move forward collectively.”
While mending fences with the industry's largest brokers remains top of mind for the National Association of Realtors, the organization appears ready to start taking action in 2026.
From seeking feedback to making changes: In the past year, NAR's number of interactions with the brokerage community was "unlike anything I've seen in a very long time," outgoing President Kevin Sears told the Broker Engagement Committee at NAR's annual fall conference last week. It's now time to start implementing changes based on that feedback, he declared.
"There's going to be some very specific things that need to be done and accomplished — and there's going to be a new level of accountability that we haven't had in strategic plans in recent years," Sears said.
NAR's three-year plan: What those "very specific things" are wasn't unveiled during the committee meeting, as NAR's three-year strategic plan was still under consideration at the time.
The overarching themes of that plan, which NAR has since adopted, are to modernize the association, provide better member value and respond to evolving market conditions, explained Dawn Ruffini, chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. Some of those improvements will be focused on training, communication and NAR's broker website.
NAR's 'big takeaway' from brokerage leaders: Sherry Chris, a longtime brokerage veteran who took on a consultant role with NAR in January 2025, said 2026 will be full of announcements as the organization gets back to business after spending a year receiving feedback from large brokerages.
At this point, there is buy-in about moving forward for the sake of the industry, Chris said. "The big takeaway from most of the brokerages that I've engaged with throughout the year is that, yes — they weren't happy about some of the things that have happened in the past. But they also want to be part of a solution for the future," Chris told Real Estate News during a committee meeting break.
Mutual goal provides optimism: Brokerages are still smarting after the commission lawsuits — particularly the large firms that were left out of NAR's $418 million settlement and had to come up with their own deal, resulting in a class-action settlement fund worth more than $1 billion for home sellers harmed by inflated commission fees.
But Chris is optimistic that large brokerages are engaging with NAR despite that acrimony. After all, they share a goal of helping consumers.
"When that happens, that's alignment," Chris said. "We'll be able to move forward collectively."