After a monumental year of change, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is looking to the past to find inspiration for the future.
Kevin Sears took to the NAR NXT main stage at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on Friday morning with a large iced coffee from Dunkin’ in hand. The NAR president and Massachusetts native then took NAR members on a walk down memory lane to explain the trade group’s priorities for 2025.
“In case you didn’t know, it’s been quite a year,” Sears said. “We’ve gone through some leadership changes, some legal challenges and one of, if not the largest, industry shifts of our lifetime. And while there may be many challenges in front of us, we have a lot of work still to do.”
While 2024 has certainly been full of challenges, Sears said it also presented the trade association and its members with plenty of opportunities to show leadership. But in order to successfully lead through these opportunities and best prioritize the trade group’s goals, Sears feels that members need to understand the history of organized real estate.
Real estate entities and professionals first organized in 1891 by forming the National Real Estate Association, which was created with the goal of making homeownership “simpler and safer for consumers,” Sears said.
“From day one, we sought to protect the consumer,” he added.
The entity that would eventually become NAR began in 1907, when a group of seven local boards of Realtors in the Midwest came together to discuss common issues. The following year, the group decided to invite the other 38 known local Realtor boards, forming what is now NAR.
“Our origins are steeped in two things: protecting the consumers and working together to protect those consumers, and I think it sounds like we stick true to who we are,” Sears said. “So, as I look to 2025 and where we want to go, it is to stick to the basics. Let’s protect the consumer; let’s work together.”
Sears cited the trade group’s efforts in advocating for changes in VA loan procedures. Those utilizing mortgages from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can still use their loan benefit when working with a buyer’s agent regardless of how their agent is being compensated. This is an example of how NAR works to protect consumers, Sears said.
“We protect consumers when we educate decision-makers about issues about inventory. We actively support legislation that reduces the tax implications for long-term owners selling their homes,” he said. “And we protect consumers when we provide data and perspective on legislation that incentivizes the conversion of commercial space into affordable residential housing.”
It is this message of consumer protection that Sears and his leadership team have sought to drive home in their conversations with the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“We are working diligently with them to explore any kind of common ground,” Sears said. “That is their ask of us, but that is also our ask of them. This is something that we are striving for and working toward.”
While Sears said he other NAR leaders are hopeful to be able to work with the DOJ to iron out their issues, he acknowledges that peace cannot be achieved overnight.
“Please understand, it is a slow process and your patience is appreciated,” Sears said. “After all, we are most effective by working together for the betterment of our industry.”
In this vein, Sears said it is imperative for NAR members to continue supporting their state and local Realtor associations. These organizations empower Realtors to work together and to better understand and serve the unique needs of consumers, he said.
Looking at the difficulties that lie ahead in 2025, Sears said it is important for Realtors and Realtor organizations to continue to work together. NAR will have to navigate some financial hardships if its commission lawsuit settlement agreement is granted final approval at the end of this month.
“If the settlement is granted, the first payment is due nine days later,” Sears said. “So, what exactly does that mean? It means that in 2025, NAR is going to be leaner. It is going to be meaner. We’ll be leaner in how we operate. We’ve scrutinized the budget for expenses that don’t directly contribute to member value. But we will still be a trusted partner in delivering the value Realtors need to thrive in their businesses while being the leading voice that propel the real estate industry forward.
“Everything that we do must be driven by the question: how do we help our members be more successful?”