For the National Association of Realtors (NAR,) transparency is the name of the game and the trade group is starting this effort by unveiling parts of its 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, which will be presented and voted on by NAR’s executive committee this fall.
In a letter sent to Realtor members by NAR CEO Nykia Wright on Friday, she said the Strategic Plan will “chart the course for how the association modernizes, operates and serves members in the years ahead.”
Wright began the letter by noting that this update is coming from her commitment to lead the trade group with transparency.
“Our goal is simple: to ensure there are no surprises about NAR’s direction and intention,” the letter states. “Transparency is not a one-time effort; it’s the new normal.”
Meeting of the minds
According to Wright, before beginning to create the strategic plan, NAR knew it needed to listen and learn from its members.
“Throughout 2025, the association’s leadership has solicited feedback from more than 100,000 NAR members through forums, surveys and focus groups. We’ve met with hundreds of real estate industry leaders — from large enterprise firms to regional brokerages — and we’ve empowered state and local association executives to host broker summits of their own,” Wright wrote.
Moving forward, she said that NAR leaders will continue to meet with members and leaders to share progress and receive feedback.
“We aim to ensure that every voice, in every corner of the industry, has a chance to be heard,” she wrote.
A new value prop
Central to the 2026-2028 Strategic Plan is a new value proposition for NAR: “NAR empowers Realtors by helping them thrive in their businesses. It achieves this goal by advocating on their behalf, providing market intelligence and research tools, offering professional development and education, maintaining high standards and elevating the Realtor brand. By supporting Realtors, NAR protects and advances the right of Americans to own real estate.”
According to Wright the new value proposition “reinforces that everything NAR does should be relentlessly focused on member success.”
In order to accomplish this goal, Wright said NAR’s strategic Plan will primarily focus on building a better member experience and modernizing the association. Some of these initiatives will include managing legal risks, increase efficiencies in legacy systems through technology and AI, overhauling NAR’s financial systems, refreshing the new member onboarding experience, enhancing dynamic dashboards that offer real-time market insights and elevating the Realtor brand value, which will include and overhaul of NAR’s consumer ad campaign.
As part of this effort for improved transparency, Wright said that, for the first time ever, NAR will publish an Annual Report, which will “add additional context to our 2024 990 filing, include details on NAR’s operations and priorities throughout 2025, and outline our goals for 2026.”
While Wright said the report will not resemble a filing by a publicly traded company, “it will represent a new level of transparency for NAR.”
Wright concluded the letter by telling members that she is grateful for everyone who has shared their ideas, feedback and critiques, and that she is looking forward to hearing more from members about how NAR can provide them with more value.
“In my short but intense tenure at NAR, I have learned that our greatest strength is our members. If we continue to work together, we will build an association that reflects the professionalism, resilience and leadership that real estate professionals who are Realtors bring to our communities,” she wrote.
