A Conversation with NAR CEO Nykia Wright

WHITE PLAINS—National Association of Realtors Chief Executive Officer Nykia Wright and NAR Senior Vice President Industry Relations Jarrod Grasso sat down with Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors Chief Executive Officer Lynda Fernandez to discuss association reform and NAR’s strategic plans going forward at HGAR’s Impact: The Member Experience event on Sept. 29.

The nearly hour-long session proved to be a frank discussion on how the National Association of Realtors has emerged from a tumultuous period of scandal and litigation to focusing on providing key services and information to its membership.

NAR’s Wright stressed her strong commitment to the association’s mantra “helping Realtors get to the next transaction.”

In a rather poignant exchange, Wright stressed: “Understand that NAR is not playing towards headlines. I am not worried about the headline today at 5 p.m. I am worried about the headline six months from now and whether or not I have delivered on what I said I was going to deliver. And that means that in the next six months journalists are going to have their opinions on where we are in the market. The important thing for you to remember is you saw me today and I am standing here before you putting my reputation on the line saying we are back to basics and we are trying to give you all everything you need as Realtors.”

Wright stressed that one important way for members to engage with NAR is to participate in the association’s surveys so that it can gain member feedback on initiatives and perhaps get new ideas it can implement.

She continued that in the next few years NAR is committed to being a “service-oriented organization” that is geared to getting its members to the next transaction.

In response to Fernandez’s question on how NAR is bringing its “reimagined vision to life,” Grasso responded that he has been traveling the country to ensure that NAR is engaged in trying to reconnect with its state and local associations and brokers.

“I want to make sure that we are having real conversations about the needs and the wants of the members and hopefully help them understand that this is not the NAR of old,” Grasso said, noting that the association in the past operated like an isolationist. “We are now out there actively seeking your input and we want to make sure that we are having real conversations that will bring back the real value to the dues-paying member. Because you (the member) are the foundation of this organization,” he added.

Wright related that NAR formed a Strategic Planning Committee that consists of volunteers, which differs from most organizations that embark initially on the formation of a new strategic plan in-house. However, since NAR is a member organization, the association began work on its strategic plan with volunteers and then hired consultants and held a series of focus groups that eventually led the association to decide in its forthcoming three-year strategic plan a total of 22 things the association would do going forward.

“This strategic plan is nothing like I have ever seen or been a part of,” Grasso related. … “It is truly giving us giving us guidance, guidance that we haven’t had in years and guidance that is going to make sure we are delivering true value back to the members.”

Wright also highlighted the important work NAR’s Advocacy Team is undertaking for the members, working on the “four Is—interest rates, inventory, inflation and insurance, which she said are the most important macro-economic issues facing the industry at the moment.

She related that while the association continues to evolve, its advocacy efforts on behalf of its members are second to none.

“I know there is a lot of noise, but we really need to understand and think about return on capital here,” Wright said. “People are paying $156 a year for the National Association of Realtors. “You are getting the most sophisticated advocacy machine in the nation. You are getting one of the top five research and housing economists in the nation to give you statistics and give you tools to understand changes in interest rates and what is going on as it relates to unlocking issues in housing.”

She also touted the many products and tools that provide members with the Content Management System that would normally require significant investment. Lastly, she said that NAR’s meetings provide members with opportunities to engage “belly to belly” with thousands of members to network and conduct transactions.