NAR is in trouble, and nobody cares.

Disclaimer: This article is blunt. The reader should understand that I am neither angry nor bitter. It’s just that “we the people” are weary of the quagmire and bad publicity when all we are trying to do is provide for our families the best we can. Further, these comments are strictly my own and may or may not reflect the opinions of any organization or person with whom I am associated. I’m just the one who is willing to say it out loud.

The National Association of REALTORS is in trouble. And the world could not give a flying flip. In the view of this 22-year practitioner, NAR lost sight of its core mission a very long time ago and everyone knows it. In the case of most of us out here in “fly-over country” the recent shenanigans have destroyed the last shred of credibility. Gradually at first, and then suddenly, this group forgot that it exists solely to serve the interests of the majority of its membership. Like every trade organization, serving the membership is the primary cause for being. It is not to change society, not to serve its queens and kings in leadership, and certainly not to serve various cliques of special interests. It exists to serve the greater membership. Period. Yet instead, this one has become a self-serving, self-replicating, self-aggrandizing, self-perpetuating-at-any-cost, morass that is so self-focused that it has become tone-deaf to the needs of the membership and has therefore lost the faith entrusted to it by that greater membership.

To be sure there are some good things that NAR does. Most of which make one cock the head sideways like a puppy and say “Huh?” simply because they appear to have been created happenstance as if in a vacuum. The leadership of this organization is so completely detached from the membership that the clear message is a “let them eat cake” attitude.

You’re either IN the circle, or you are persona non grata.

Follow the money. Go look up IRS form 990. The most current one I could find online is for the year 2021. These “volunteer” leaders are all paid nearly $300k per year, for multiple years, and yet they can’t seem to keep their pants on (WTH?). While at the same time these same people constantly rail at the membership that if they utter one single word of disparagement of another member or step out of line one inch, they will be punished mightily. The headman is paid nearly $3,000,000 a year and is unable (or more likely, unwilling) to smack the hands that wonder. Better to retire with the gold, than face the furnace I guess. Did you know that NAR spent nearly $5million that year on just travel expenses? They like to boast about being the 2nd largest lobbying organization in the country, but the members don’t have adequate group health insurance. “It’s a law problem” they say – well get the frigging law changed, you just told us you're the 2nd largest lobbying org in the nation.

Credibility blown. So much for leadership.

Were it not for the monopolistic, Pythonidae-like control over the MLS, this organization would have self-destructed a long time ago, much like what is currently happening. The Realtor brand means no more to the consumer than “xerox” or “band-aide.” (“Can you make me a xerox of this please?” “So-in-so is my realtor.”) The trademark is now 100% generic. Allowed to become so by NAR in the interest of increasing dues revenue plain and simple.

The state affiliate associations have steadfastly refused to engage with the legislatures to raise the barrier to entry in this profession (like the mortgage profession did) much less increase the requirements to remain in this industry. All necessary requirements to raise professionalism. A few years ago, I and others presented such a proposal to our state association – and they killed it twice in government affairs committee. If NAR truly wanted to improve professionalism, they would stop with the niggling rules and raise both the dues and the requirements for being in/remaining in this industry. There is not a single professional out here that would balk at paying $3000 per year IF it really meant something. As I said though, all credibility has now been destroyed. So good luck with that now.

For the life of me I cannot fathom why we have one national association + one state association + NINE local associations in the Greater Nashville Area. Each with dues to pay, rules to join, and all with a seemingly constant bombardment of membership emails and calls that for the most part provide little to no value to their lives. They all seem to run around thumping their chests competing for members. Why can we not have just ONE association in this area?? As a businessperson who just happens to be in the real estate industry, these are the things that just make no sense to me. More importantly they detract from what should be our sole mission: serving our clients while proving for our families.

I could go on, but I won’t. NAR is reaping what it has sown, and the chips will fall where they may. My sole interest is elimination of the requirement of NAR membership to access the MLS. We little ones at the forefront, trying to feed our families need to earn a living without bowing down to some bureaucratic organization off in an ivory tower somewhere that keeps sucking money out of our pockets for its own purposes of who-knows-what, all so we can have access to the MLS. Remove the requirement of NAR membership, and the world changes tomorrow. There. I said it and that's all I have to say about that.