Nykia Wright: NAR Is Listening, Evolving with Members

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Realtor Magazine.

Now is a time for the National Association of Realtors to listen and respond to members’ feedback and evolve to continue serving their changing needs, NAR Interim CEO Nykia Wright says in a new episode of the “Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered” podcast (https://realestateinsidersunfiltered.com/leading-nar-through-crises-with-nykia-wright/) that dropped Thursday. 

“The National Association of Realtors is a serious organization that understands the serious business and the weight of the challenge that we have before us,” Wright says in a conversation encompassing her experience leading NAR through times of change and her vision for its future. “There are so many opportunities for people to volunteer. … I encourage us to use those channels so that we can be the best organization we can be.” 

Wright, who has deep experience in the business world, explains that all industry stakeholders need to be thoughtful about which conversations to bring to the association and which are appropriate for their customers and other outside parties. She talks about this in the context of her early career working within the franchise space, analyzing the financial statements of more than 1,000 franchise concepts and later serving as a franchise broker. This work led her to a greater understanding of small business ownership and the power of a professional association. In the podcast, Wright speaks specifically to the importance of small business owners being able to lean on associations “to be in business for myself but not by myself.” 

She says a primary example of this is NAR’s advocacy work, which is critical to protecting private property rights and supporting access to homeownership. She speaks about the educational aspect of advocacy and how that touches broader issues, such as home affordability.  

“When you think about people using [homeownership] as a vehicle to enter the middle class … it’s super important that people understand the parameters,” Wright says. “When we’re talking about what our challenges are in the industry—there’s inventory, there’s insurance and there’s inflation. Those are things that we do not have control over, but those are things we continue to educate people on.”  

James Dwiggins, an NAR member, CEO of NextHome Inc., and host of “Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered,” thanked both Wright and NAR President Kevin Sears for being transparent leaders. “The transparency and being more authentic has resonated,” Dwiggins says. 

“My heuristic is to go all the way up to the line without breaching my fiduciary duties [as interim CEO],” Wright responds. 

Answering a question about whether NAR’s proposed settlement agreement is the right solution to seller litigation, Wright is equally transparent: “Absolutely, unequivocally. Of the options that we were given, this was the path that made the most sense for us.” 

She discusses NAR’s ongoing efforts to ensure all constituents are included in conversations on the industry’s future. “We understand that there were some unhappy stakeholders. It is the Leadership Team’s commitment—it is my commitment—to go back and figure out what we can do to bring these people along.” 

Wright calls the shifts in the market a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for everyone in the industry to provide value to their audiences. She says she’ll continue to strengthen her partnership with NAR’s staff and volunteer leaders, sharing that she’s most proud of their ability to work together and lean on each other’s strengths and unique experiences. She says the blend of her experience leading organizations through change and Sears’ decades of real estate experience is a powerful force for NAR. 

Her goal is for NAR to continue to be the “preeminent trade association across the world. It’s not so much how many members we have; it’s who we are, how we show up for our members, the value that we add to them.” 

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online (http://realtormag.realtor.org), Aug. 15, 2024, with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.