The National Association of REALTORS® published its first detailed annual report, which describes how each of the 24 initiatives in NAR’s 2026–2028 Strategic Plan were set in motion in 2025.
The document also explains how the organization will continue to move the needle in 2026.
“The work we undertook in 2025 is just the beginning,” NAR CEO Nykia Wright says.
The report recaps NAR’s significant progress, particularly in budgeting, repairing partner relationships, managing risk and communicating industry news in real time.
Moving to Zero
One of the most dramatic shifts underway centers on financial stewardship and transparency. Under NAR’s new chief financial officer, Matthew Cenedella, the association thoroughly reviewed its expenses and hired an outside global firm to conduct an audit of the organization.
The association delivered its second balanced budget, following a decade of deficit budgeting, and cut expenses year-over-year by nearly $50 million.
“We are being much better stewards of the money that comes through our doors and how we are developing products and services to help you get to your next transaction,” Wright said during a virtual member town hall in December.
Wright is a proponent of “zero-based budgeting,” an approach where all department expenses are scrutinized and must be justified each year. The association will move further toward this in 2026.
“That essentially means every year the budget starts back at zero,” she says. “That way there isn’t a set it and forget it” with vendors, much like the myriad of subscriptions people have on auto renew in their personal lives.
Mending Relationships
A second area where NAR made a significant effort in 2025 was repairing relationships with brokerages; local and state associations; institutes, societies and councils (ISCs); multiple listing services (MLSs); and brokerages. Some of those relationships had become frayed, particularly the relationship with large brokerages who had to bring money to the table as a result of the Sitzer/Burnett settlement.
At the start of 2025, Wright appointed respected leaders Sherry Chris and Jarrod Grasso to new roles, focused on bringing these stakeholders back into the fold.
Read More: The First 100 Days With Sherry Chris: Bringing Forward Broker Voices at NAR
Listen/Watch: Special Podcast Episode: Live at AEI
“There was no Sherry Chris before Sherry Chris, and that’s super important to understand when we go around the country and say, ‘Why are all of these people feeling disenfranchised?’” Wright said in November.
“There is no more ivory tower,” she added, saying that NAR would be working to co-create products and services with “brokerage houses ... states and locals and everyone in between.”
Wright, Chris and Grasso have traveled around the country to meet with partners and encourage dialogue. In October, dozens of CEOs from brokerages representing roughly 700,000 members traveled to Chicago to meet with Wright, Chris, senior NAR staff and volunteer leaders to offer feedback on the strategic plan. NAR also provided resources and attended 47 “broker summits,” where state and local associations engaged with their broker stakeholders.
That work has begun to pay off, according to the annual report. NAR’s “Broker Power Hour” attendance rose by nearly 22% in 2025. The association is looking to boost attendance by another 20% in 2026, as well as achieve an 85% participation rate in its quarterly conversations with association executives.
Proactive Legal Approach
On the legal front, the association switched up its strategy under the guidance of its new general counsel Jon Waclawski, who assumed the top legal spot in February of last year.
Under Waclawski, the organization initiated a complete scan of its legal risk, reviewing policies impacting the REALTOR® organization. This review resulted in several policy modifications; including, the addition of Multiple Listing Options for Sellers (MLOS) that offers consumers flexibility for delayed marketing on an MLS, 18 changes to the MLS Handbook that reinforce matters of local discretion and removes outdated enforcement practices, and Code of Ethics changes related to harassment.
“We’re going to be more strategic and laser focused on the derisking aspect and what it means for the industry,” Waclawski said on the Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast. “Business decisions will still be made but legal will inform them so at least we’re knowledgeable about the risk portfolio, and the risk we’re willing to take on and that risk that we’re willing to shed.”
The association is also fighting challenges to NAR policies in court—and winning. In July 2025, judges dismissed three lawsuits against NAR. Those decisions reinforced “the association’s position that its policies foster a competitive, fair and transparent housing market benefiting both members and consumers,” the report says.
The report also notes how the association has been collaborating, and will continue to collaborate, with state and local association counsel, industry relations and advocacy teams and others to monitor any emerging legal risks.
Transparent Communication
To help regain trust with members, NAR has retooled how it disseminates information.
Last year, the association leaned into its role as the “first voice” to deliver industry news and regulatory developments, the report says, bringing its key member communications under the REALTOR® News (formerly REALTOR® Magazine) brand and improving coordination between the messaging to members and the public.
Member-focused stories are published in REALTOR® News at the same time press releases are issued. REALTOR® News is also an authoritative source of significant litigation updates that explain exactly how rulings impact members' businesses.
NAR leaders aren’t shying away from the microphone either; per the report, association experts conducted more than 400 media interviews in 2025, further emphasizing NAR’s “first voice” philosophy.
While not explicitly mentioned in the report, through its Surrogate Program, NAR also empowers members and local and state association executives to amplify important NAR updates via local and national media and on their social media channels. What began as a grassroots effort to share the vital role REALTORS® play, has grown into a network of over 1,000 engaged members and AEs.
Wright highlighted the program during the December town hall: “If you volunteer to be one of our surrogates, not only do we help you in your media presence in your local market, but you're doing two things. You're speaking on behalf of the market, but you're also marketing yourself through your prowess and understanding.”
This year, NAR says it hopes to become even more transparent and quicker in delivering industry news as well as enhance its social media and use of video.
“NAR's 80-page annual report represents the most comprehensive and transparent accounting coming out of the association in recent history,” says Bennett Richardson, chief marketing and communications officer for NAR. “It is a big step in the association's commitment to be accountable and transparent, working in the spirit of collaboration with its partners to lead and to serve its members.”
