Nykia Wright outlines NAR transparency and antitrust reset

When Nykia Wright was named permanent CEO of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in August 2024, she was tasked with righting a ship, which in her opinion had “lost its way.”

“What we are trying to do is get that confidence back and the only way to do that is to be transparent,” Wright told attendees of HousingWire’s The Gathering on Wednesday morning. 

A lack of transparency within the organization was a chief complaint among association members and Wright is aiming to use the trade group’s about face regarding transparency to lead one of the largest brand turnarounds in real estate history. 

“We have covered a lot of ground over the past couple of years, but we also want to acknowledge that we have a long way to go,” Wright said. 

Central to the turnaround is NAR’s 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, which the association unveiled and approved in November 2025. One of the main pillars of the strategic plan is the quarterly reports NAR is providing members regarding the association’s progress on the plan. 

“We are making sure that everyone understands where we are at any given moment,” Wright said. “A big piece of that is when people understand exactly what we’ve committed to, then they can come in on top to add other areas that we need to be focusing on. They can say ‘Here is a gap. Have you thought about that?’”

In addition to increasing transparency, Wright said the plan is also focused on getting the industry back on track, getting Realtors successfully to their next transaction and navigating the current affordability challenges faced by consumers. 

Challenges getting consensus

As Wright and her team at NAR have worked to meet with members and find ways to satisfy their needs and demands of the association, she said the lack of consensus among members is often a challenge in more ways than just the obvious. 

“When talking about an association, it is so fragile because you can be doing a lot for a lot of people, but if you go too close to the line, you could be entering the territory of collusion,” Wright said. “Each time you get closer to overall agreement, you have to test the waters to make sure you aren’t entering into antitrust territory.” 

Avoiding antitrust and legal issues in general is a topic that has taken center stage as NAR looks to the future. Wright said that just two months after being named permanent CEO of NAR, she requested that the team meet with top antitrust attorneys across the country to evaluate NAR’s portfolio of rules.

“We needed to derisk the portfolio of rules,” Wright said. “This had not been done in years. I wanted to get a fresh set of eyes on them and see if there were any rules or policies that contradicted each other and also see which rules, in the new world of antitrust, were ripe for more litigation.” 

A direct result of this derisking effort was NAR’s decision to give local MLSs control over things like MLS access and disciplinary action. Due to this decision, Wright said NAR is staying out of the current debate surrounding coming soon listings and private listings.

“If we were talking about this three years ago, the answer would have been different because of antitrust,” Wright said. “As it relates to MLSs today, we are not telling them what to do because if we do, we are walking right back into antitrust issues and we cannot afford to be in that situation ever again.” 

The value of NAR membership

For the real estate professionals who have questioned the value of NAR membership over the past few years, Wright said she doesn’t believe there is anywhere else in America you could get the value NAR provides members for their annual dues fee of $201. Chief among these benefits are the research and data, the education and advocacy NAR provides members. 

“The advocacy alone, what we do on behalf of the entire ecosystem, even for those who are not part of the National Association of Realtors, what [we] do on behalf of consumers who don’t even know that we’re doing that every day is certainly worth more than $201,” Wright said. “What the National Association of Realtors does in exchange for those $201 is get opinions from the local, state, and national level to help move the housing industry forward and protect and preserve that right for homeowners as well as Realtors in the ecosystem.” 

While the task of turning around NAR can be challenging at times, Wright said she sees plenty of reasons to remain optimistic, including from the members themselves. 

“Knowing that we are in this fight with those type of serious-minded, code of ethics-grounded people is really optimistic,” Wright said.