‘Playmakers’: ROI of NAR membership is ‘astronomical,’ CEO says 

Editor's note: The Playmakers podcast explores the biggest shifts in real estate with those who are shaping the industry's future. Check out our top takeaways and watch the latest episode from host Andrew Flachner, co-founder of RealScout.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the Playmakers podcast belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.

On this episode of the Playmakers podcast, National Association of Realtors CEO Nykia Wright champions the benefits of being a Realtor, explains the difficulties of enforcing professionalism and shares the steps she's taking to understand and implement new tech.

The wide-ranging interview began with Wright acknowledging that NAR "had a limited amount of time to solve a very big problem" that was "years in the making." Her top priorities upon stepping into the leadership role? Fixing NAR's culture and finances.

Following a nationwide listening tour, Wright said last month at NAR's annual conference that her team will now begin implementing a three-year strategic plan aimed at demonstrating its value to Realtors, who pay $201 in annual membership fees.

"Regardless of what metric you use, the return on $201 is astronomical — and that's what we have to continue to tell people."

Direct benefits of membership: Housing research, agent education and the association's backing of Second Century Ventures are among the top NAR member benefits, Wright said — but "the easiest to understand is advocacy."

As an example, Wright noted that Realtors wouldn't have been considered essential workers during the pandemic without NAR pushing for this classification on Capitol Hill.

In today's slower market, the advocacy team's ability to explain affordability and other industry challenges to lawmakers is "super important," she added.

What NAR's plan seeks to achieve: The "pillars" of NAR's strategic plan include helping Realtors thrive in business, preserving the Realtor brand, identifying unique approaches to advocacy, managing legal risk and transforming the association's budget, Wright explained.

The plan, which encompasses 75 projects, officially launches on Jan. 1 — but "we're already doing the work now," Wright said, and members are already "getting communication in a better way."

The problem with 'professionalism': While Wright acknowledged that professionalism within the industry is a concern for many, she said it's difficult to enforce because the term can mean different things depending on who you ask.

What NAR is "committed" to doing, Wright said, is assessing its code of ethics to ensure that it spells out "best-in-class guidelines for how people should show up to the profession."

"But we can't solve that by ourselves," she said, adding that it's "the fiduciary duty" of a brokerage to carry the weight of enforcement.

The splintering listing landscape: When asked about the growing trend of private listings, Wright said a theoretical "power to regulate the entire market" would be "dangerous" for NAR because "that is truly not our sole reason for existence."

Though NAR decided to keep its controversial Clear Cooperation Policy, "there are some people who are ignoring it," Wright said. "The question becomes: What is the rest of society's responsibility in helping to determine the outcome of that?"

A hands-on approach to AI: Wright said she is enrolled in a "chief AI officer" university course to understand how she as a business leader can guide NAR's approach to AI.

"I'm here to make sure that whatever policies we come up with are informed, that they are stress tested — that they are not 'set it and forget it,' but they continue to evolve," she explained.

As for AI's impact on real estate? "I don't think that it's going to be any different from any other profession," Wright said.