I was in Chicago last week at NAR Headquarters for the NAR Influencer Summit. My kids got a kick out of me being an “influencer.” I feel so Gen Z! Rob Hahn was there, as was Keith Robinson from NextHome/Real Estate Insider’s Podcast, Katie Lance, and a few other podcasters/bloggers/etc. I heard there were more invited but couldn’t make it due to scheduling.

The meeting was held at the top of the NAR building on Michigan Ave. Very cool. I hadn’t been inside the building since pre-pandemic, and never to the top, so that was kind of a treat.

What struck me initially was who from NAR was present: basically Nykia Wright, CEO of NAR, and her entire executive team. Some of them, based in Washington DC, had flown in to attend the event. And they were there for the entire meeting, which lasted from 12 PM to about 6 PM. We were told nothing was off limits, but to be respectful. A lot of the executive team gave brief presentations and then we could ask questions.

Nykia was the first to present. She basically went over NAR’s new strategic plan. I had already read it, so a lot of it was repetitive. Some of the team were brand new to NAR; others had already been there a while, like Lawrence Yun, Shannon McGahn, Mark Birschbach, and Jonathan Waclawski.

Nykia spoke about roughly a 20% reduction in NAR staff, which was higher than the 14% number I had read previously. Based on the tenor of the conversations, budget pressures were clearly a big driver across many departments.

This ain’t your old NAR.

I asked a lot of questions. When I thought I was getting corporate gobbledygook, I pushed back and asked for clarification—which, most of the time, I got. There were some myths I had about NAR that were busted. Some answers I thought were incomplete. But overall I have to say I was impressed with the effort and thought that Nykia and her executive team put into it. Honestly, really impressed.

At one point Nykia described herself as a “business doctor.” I thought that was apt. She described her patient, NAR. By NAR she meant the entire ecosystem: staff, leadership, brokers, and agents. She laid out what the patient needed to do to survive. As a pragmatic doctor, there was no need to dwell on the past. The past was done. Her focus is making sure the patient survives going forward. Her beside manner? All business.

The prescription was pretty clear.

The patient needs to get sober.

Change its diet. Lose some weight.

Eat healthier foods. More greens. Fewer carbs.

And one by one, members of her executive team came up and explained how the patient would start exercising again—new routines, new disciplines, new habits meant to produce a healthier organization.
Maybe even stop hanging around with a few bad influences.

Everyone in the room seemed to agree with the diagnosis.

But agreeing with the doctor and following the doctor’s orders are two very different things.

So the real question isn’t whether NAR has a plan.

The question is whether the patient will actually follow it.

We’ll see.

But at least the doctor has arrived.

My thanks to Bennett Richardson for the invite and Nykia for her hospitality.