Welcome to the Big Easy!
What happens when roughly 10,000 REALTORS® descend on the Crescent City? Well, I guess we’ll find out this weekend. All joking aside, welcome to another edition of the REALTOR® News team’s live event blog.
I’m one of your hosts, Kyle Fobe, NAR’s director of news and content strategy. I’ll be joined by our wonderful team of writers and editors as we take you inside the happenings at this year’s NAR NXT conference.
We want to show you what NXT actually feels like: the conversations in the hallways, the packed rooms, the ideas being scribbled into notebooks, the chance encounters and, yes, probably whatever we happen to be eating along the way. Today is mostly about arrivals, registration and finding our way around, so I’ll keep this one relatively short.
The team is here. The badges are on. New Orleans is waiting. So buckle up. NXT 2026 is here. Let the good times roll! –Kyle Fobe
Countdown Is On!
We are here at the first main stage presentation at NXT in NOLA at the Convention Center. Look at the beautiful stage this year! Things just kicked off with NAR 2026 President Kevin Brown and CEO Nykia Wright. Today is technically pre-conference programming, with the official start tomorrow, but thousands of members have already arrived in the Big Easy. –Kyle Fobe
Garden District Walking Tour
Walking through the Garden District feels like stepping back into the 19th century, but seeing it through the eyes of an architect tour guide, changes the experience entirely, especially for real estate professionals. This morning, a group of REALTOR® members explored these oak-canopied streets with Louis Kong, a licensed architect, historic preservation advocate, and Friends of the Cabildo docent.
Rather than a standard historical overview, Kong brought the neighborhood to life using a unique toolkit: original floor plans, archival photographs, and a deep knowledge of structural evolution. As the group moved between grand Greek Revival and Italianate homes, he peeled back the layers of history, showing how economic forces and architectural trends shaped the neighborhood’s distinct character.
Seeing it was a rare chance to move beyond the sweeping verandas and manicured grounds to truly appreciate the craftsmanship and history that define this iconic area. For REALTORS® who appreciate the intersection of architecture and local community heritage, the tour offered a unique perspective on the neighborhood. –Michelle Delino
For Your Socials: Photo Opps!
I made friends with a few REALTOR® members who were snapping NOLA-themed photos at the Convention Center this morning. So great to meet you, ladies! The spirits are high and the the sun is shining. –Lauren Pinch
Building Trust Through Action: NAR Leaders Share Progress
Rebuilding trust starts with listening. And as NAR leaders emphasized during an Advocacy Scoop session at NAR NXT Thursday morning, it also requires action.
2026 President Kevin Brown and CEO Nykia Wright outlined how member feedback is driving measurable progress on advocacy, legal protections, financial accountability and resources that help REALTOR® members succeed.
Approved in 2025, NAR's three-year strategic plan was shaped by feedback from more than 150,000 members and centers on two pillars: "We are either building the future of member experience or we're modernizing the association," Wright said.
Among the highlights:
- Housing advocacy: More than 10 NAR committees helped shape the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, while approximately 10,000 congressional meetings—yes, 10,000—helped advance the legislation.
- MLS collaboration: NAR contacted 484 MLSs nationwide, reestablished the MLS Executives Group and launched seven online resources.
- Legal protections: Met with more than 100 legal leaders and reported a dozen favorable legal outcomes.
- Financial accountability: NAR adopted zero-based budgeting for 2027, requiring expenses to be justified against strategic priorities and member value. A third consecutive balanced budget awaits a Board of Directors vote on Monday.
- Broker and commercial resources: NAR conducted more than 80 broker-focused engagements and introduced commercial market intelligence tools covering more than 300 metropolitan areas.
Wright also announced that NAR's modernized learning management system will launch Dec. 1, with mobile learning capabilities and new marketing resources. Refreshed new-member onboarding toolkits for state and local associations are planned for the first half of 2027.
Brown closed by acknowledging that NAR's work isn’t finished. “Still significant work ahead, but the direction is clear, the structure is in place and we're continuing to translate strategy into value that members can see, feel, and use,” he said. –Erica Christoffer
Fresh off their own training, NAR’s newest group of prospective Verified Instructors returned to the classroom, this time sharing what they learned and encouraging others to take the leap. –Kyle Fobe
A Big Conversation in the Big Easy
What better place to talk about passing the torch than around a table in New Orleans? For a special episode of "Change Agents," NAR Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Bennett Richardson joined 2026 NAR President Kevin Brown, and 2026 President-elect Christine Hansen for a wide-ranging conversation about leadership, service and the future of the association. Recorded on location at Galliano’s Restaurant, the episode trades the usual podcast setting for a little New Orleans atmosphere and a candid conversation between leaders representing different chapters in NAR’s story. –Danny Cozzi
The ROAD Ahead: Roundtable Looks at Implementing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
It was a packed house for the State and Local Issues Roundtable Thursday afternoon where a panel explored the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act’s implications for housing supply, affordability, and state and local policy, highlighting where federal action intersects with existing advocacy priorities and emerging opportunities for REALTOR® associations.
A major topic of discussion was how local governments can take advantage of grant opportunities to expand housing options in their communities and how those governments can take part in the funding process as the legislation is implemented. –Ross Hettervig
Get the (Post-Midterms) Scoop
The votes are in, and the 2026 midterm elections have reshaped the political landscape in Washington, D.C. So, what does it all mean for REALTOR® members and the real estate industry? In this special post-election edition of The Advocacy Scoop, NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn and Vice President of Advocacy Communications and Outreach Patrick Newton break down the results and look ahead to what comes next for the REALTOR® Party and NAR’s advocacy agenda. Come to the live taping of this episode at 4:30 p.m. CT today in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Great Hall, First Floor! –Michael Rauber
What's Next for NAR Advocacy
Shannon McGahn and Patrick Newton are going live now to break down the results of the 2026 midterm election and what housing policy could look like in the 120th Congress and at the state and local level. –Michael Rauber
YPN Is as Energetic and Focused as Ever
Per the usual, the future of the industry—the Young Professionals Network—is putting in the work now. They’re putting on events, raising money, establishing and revitalizing new networks and constantly working toward raising the bar in the industry.
Even ChatGPT noticed. When Karishma Ramani of NAR’s marketing team started off her presentation on the new Verified Instructor Program, she began by telling the audience she asked ChatGPT what it thought YPN was, and the AI came back saying the network is “an influential group of forward-thinking real estate agents,” to which the advisory board applauded.
About 30 minutes before the YPN Advisory Board meeting kicked off, chair Brandi Minchillo sent a quick Facebook message to the inviting them to the meeting and roundtables.
For the first time at a conference, the room had ample space, she said, and she hoped YPN members at the conference would join. By the time the session started, the room had filled.
Board members noted that to date, they have traveled to 28 networks across the country presenting on topics like leadership, how to work with staff and how to get board funding to support YPN networks. Vice Chair Harrison Beacher reminded attendees that the advisory board is at their disposal, to come speak at events in person or virtually, and to help mentor networks on any manner of issue their facing, from funding to events to retention.
Seventeen new and revitalized networks have been established across the country this year, including the Bayou Board of REALTORS® in New Orleans, the NAR NXT host location for this year. And over 30 YPN members have completed their YPN Pledge this year, an initiative that helps support advocacy. –Nicole Slaughter Graham
Small Brokers, Big Impact: New NAR Business Resources
From fighting real estate fraud to embracing AI and strengthening professionalism, NAR's Small Broker Committee highlighted new tools and resources shaped by broker feedback during its meeting at NAR NXT.
Chaired by Claire Killen, broker-owner of Emerald Real Estate in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, the meeting showcased several initiatives designed to help brokers operate more efficiently and protect their businesses and clients.
Fraud prevention: Sharon Love-Bates, NAR director of emerging technology, presented nar.realtor/fraud, a new resource offering guidance to prevent, detect and report fraud throughout the real estate transaction. She warned that AI is making impersonation, phishing and wire fraud schemes increasingly sophisticated, urging brokers to educate agents and clients about verifying suspicious communications.
Emerging technology: Ashley Stinton, managing partner of NAR REACH, highlighted six companies in the program's 2026 cohort—AiRE, Association Online, BrokerBot, LotRoll, MaxHome.ai and StackWrap—offering solutions for client engagement, transaction efficiency, agent support, compliance and technology integration. She encouraged brokers to share feedback directly with the companies to help shape tools around their business needs.
Broker engagement: Nykea Pippion McGriff, NAR vice president of broker engagement, reported that NAR leadership participated in 572 events throughout the country, reaching approximately 32,000 members through the third quarter. She highlighted improvements to the broker.realtor website and the launch of smallbroker.realtor, along with broker summits, mastermind sessions and a new monthly Broker Update newsletter.
Back to business and education: NAR 2026 President Kevin Brown reaffirmed his focus on the issues affecting members day-to-day business, including financing, insurance, housing affordability and inventory. He emphasized NAR's efforts to strengthen the MLS ecosystem and advance housing supply legislation, while highlighting education improvements: a new learning platform launching Dec. 1, six updated courses expected in January and a verified instructor program designed to make learning more practical and relevant.
Ethics in action: Steve Casper, a member of of NAR's Professional Standards Committee—a committee he chaired 25 years ago—presented "The Code of Ethics Is Good Business," a new online resource organizing ethical obligations around the stages of buyer and seller transactions. Available in digital and printable formats, the tool helps agents apply the Code of Ethics in everyday practice.
The meeting concluded with roundtable discussions focused on broker business tools, education and website content, giving committee members another opportunity to influence resources developed for their businesses. –Erica Christoffer
Don’t Take the Bait or You’ll Get Hacked
Here’s a coffee-talk starter during NXT: When was the last time someone tried to hack your office—or one of your transactions? Following Thursday’s “Cybersecurity Best Practices” session, attendees had plenty of examples of their own to share.
One agent said in the past 10 weeks alone, three fake sellers had nearly made it to closing, caught only by identity verification software.
Another agent described a buyer who wired a six-figure deposit using fraudulent instructions delivered to their doorstep, as the title company advised. The legitimate wiring instructions arrived the same way, the next day.
And another agent described shared how a client received an email with wiring instructions and a phone number to call to verify—along with a warning about criminals trying to steal money. The irony is the instructions themselves were fraudulent.
Cybercriminals love real estate: Big money, tight deadlines and multiple parties create opportunities for fraud. NAR’s Chris DeRosa and Sebastian Drywa offered a simple defense: Awareness. Before clicking, responding or sending money, DeRosa said: Stop, wait and ask, “does this make sense?” A few minutes verifying a request could save thousands of dollars and heartache.
For more tips, check out NXT’s Nov. 7 session, “Pause, Verify, Protect: Stopping Real Estate Fraud Before It Starts” or NAR’s newly launched site, Protecting Your Clients and Your Business From Fraud. –Melissa Dittmann Tracey
Brokers Work Together to Solve Problems
At a roundtable discussion, several brokers stated that this—the opportunity to troubleshoot with other brokers in-person—is the reason they come to conferences. Brokers spent the majority of the 90-minute session talking with each other about their main pain points, including agent retention and education, getting agents to show up for meetings, how to better use AI while maintaining compliance and E&O insurance options.
The conversation was lively, solution-oriented, and left brokers enthusiastic about applying what they learned in their businesses. –Nicole Slaughter Graham
'We're Listening'
At the Association Leaders Town Hall on Thursday, NAR Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Bennett Richardson, President-elect Christine Hansen, President Kevin Brown and Senior Vice President of Industry Relations Jarrod Grasso drew in a packed audience at their panel discussion about the ways the association is improving member engagement, creating customizable communication strategies and leveraging significant legislative achievements. They underscored the "three-way agreement" (the collaboration among local, state, and national associations) as crucial for effective advocacy and member support. The main takeaway: It's all about listening to members, particularly small and boutique brokers and associations, that are seeking targeted, customizable resources. "A tailored approach has been really important," Richardson said, pointing to NAR's new daily and weekly newsletters that speak directly to members, "meeting them where they are."
Hansen extended her appreciation to the members in the audience for being present, engaged and supportive. "You all are just so important to us, because somehow at some point, somebody effectively communicated to you the value [of NAR membership], which is why you're here. And so we need your help to be able to continue that on as we travel around through the country to amplify our voice," she said, celebrating the fact that NAR's Broker Power Hour registrations are up by 62%.
Brown talked about the inaugural Broker Innovation Forum at NXT (a sold-out event happening on Friday) as one of the many innovative ways NAR leaders are listening to and reaching brokers. "I'm a broker, and I know how busy brokers are, and a lot of times they don't have time to read our emails. So how do we engage them? The number one thing is listening. That makes a difference. We really need to listen more to brokers to find out what resources that they need, what their issues are, what they're struggling with on a day to day basis. And so that's what we've done," Brown said.
Grasso highlighted the new NXT Commercial Track as a way to engage with members to specialize commercial real estate, as well as new AE-focused resources released this year. "My goal when I came into NAR a year and a half ago was making sure that the association executives, our true boots on the ground, the foundation of our organization, had enough resources at their fingertips," he says, pointing to NAR's new Association Accelerator toolkits a huge hit. "To AEs out there, we want to be responsive to what your needs are. For example, if you are an association executive and you want to put out a committee notice, there's a template for you to use. If you want to do a newsletter, we have a template for a newsletter. We're going to continue to build those resources because we know that you're stretched thin and that you only have so many resources available to you at the association level. We want to make sure that you're able to communicate at the highest standard as possible." -Lauren Pinch
