More agents joining NAR ahead of settlement deadline
Despite market headwinds and uncertainty around practice changes, NAR membership has remained resilient, with big gains in Washington state.
Key points:
- According to the latest data on NAR-affiliated state associations, there were roughly 1.53 million Realtors in August.
- Membership is back up after falling below the 1.5 million threshold in February, suggesting that speculation about agent attrition has not yet been borne out.
- Washington Realtors has seen some of the most dramatic swings in membership in the last year.
Following the landmark Sitzer/Burnett verdict and NAR's subsequent settlement, some predicted that agents would leave the industry in droves — but there's no evidence of that trend, at least not yet.
On the contrary, NAR membership is once again on the upswing: The latest state association membership data reveals that NAR gained more than 29,000 member agents between April and August, pushing membership to roughly 1.53 million.
Making up ground after last year's losses
There has been much discussion and speculation about the likelihood of agent attrition since the market began slowing down in 2022. A year ago, NAR membership continued to increase, even as transactions declined. But in August 2023, the organization was confronted with accusations of sexual harassment, leading to a period of intense scrutiny and the launch of a competitor association.
Over the next few months, the organization reported losses — between October and January, NAR membership fell by 62,000, though the association still claimed more than 1.5 million members.
In February, NAR lost another 19,000 members, pushing its count below the 1.5 million threshold for the first time in nearly three years. Still, membership has been largely resilient despite the challenging market and the upcoming industry practice changes.
"Our membership numbers — as in all previous years — will be competitive, with new members trying out their entrepreneurial skills while less productive members drop out," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told Real Estate News via email. "We will await the net impact. So far, membership is holding high with only a 2% decline from a year ago despite the low home sales over the past two years."
Big swings in Washington state
The biggest membership gains in recent months have been in Washington state, where NAR-affiliated Washington Realtors saw its membership increase by 5.6% between April and August — the highest percentage growth of any association in the country during this period.
However, the growth comes after Washington Realtors saw the biggest drop of any state association last year, losing more than 2,500 agents, representing an 11% decline in overall Realtor membership.
Some of that attrition could be credited to Redfin's split with NAR last October, concedes Washington Realtors CEO Nathan Gorton. However, more recent membership growth could signal that agents are jumping back on board before the August 17 practice changes deadline, Gorton told Real Estate News.
"You've got to be a member in good standing in order to benefit from the NAR settlement — in order to have the liability removed," he said, referring to concern over the potential to be roped into a copycat commissions lawsuit. "So certainly that's had an impact."
Washington agents may be more prepared for the big August deadline than some of their peers in other states, Gorton suggested, as buyer agent agreements are already required by Washington state law. The organization has recently focused its efforts on educating consumers about the changes to the industry with a web and television campaign, similar to the approach taken by Florida's Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors.