NAR membership dips below 1.5M — will losses continue? 

The latest membership counts are in, and they show that the National Association of Realtors lost 25,336 members during the month of December. It's the biggest monthly decline in nearly a year following modest drops in October and November, bringing NAR's current total membership to 1.498 million — the lowest figure since last March. 

A trend, or just a seasonal dip? 

Despite its turbulent year, NAR's member base remained fairly stable throughout the second half of 2024, hovering around 1.52 million from June to December. After dropping below the 1.5 million mark in early spring, the organization witnessed small but steady gains in membership ahead of the August deadline to implement new industry practice changes. Agents may have opted to join or renew their membership during that time to shield themselves from the risk of further lawsuits, some industry insiders suggested.

While December's loss of more than 25,000 Realtors is notable, it represents a decline of just 1.7% from November. And big drops around the turn of the year are not uncommon for NAR. The organization reported a dip of more than 17,000 members at this time last year, and lost another 38,700 members in January 2024.

Pushback from local associations, members

Unlike last year, however, NAR is seeing more threats from within. That could cause membership to drop further — especially if more local associations follow the lead of Phoenix Realtors, which unveiled its new "MLS Choice" offering back in November — a discounted membership level that includes access to MLS data and forms without joining a Realtor association. In December, two national brokerages — Realty ONE and HomeSmart — told their Phoenix-area agents that they could choose to opt out of NAR membership for 2025. 

Seeing MLS Choice as a threat to its three-way agreement, NAR responded in December by issuing a cease-and-desist to Phoenix Realtors. After Phoenix Realtors declined to end its new program, NAR began the process of revoking the local association's charter. In an email shared with organization leaders, NAR General Counsel Lesley Muchow said NAR "has no choice but to defend the Realtor trademark, our integrated model, and Realtors and consumers they serve."

According to the latest state association numbers, Arizona Realtors lost just 624 members between December and January 1.

Phoenix Realtors isn't the only association rethinking membership requirements. In September, Alabama Realtors asked NAR to allow its members to "choose where they allocate their membership and dues dollars between the local, state, and national levels," as members were "actively looking for alternatives." Additionally, NAR is facing legal challenges from agents in Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania — and, as of Jan. 2, Louisiana — over mandatory membership requirements.

Nearly all states reported declines in December

All but one state lost members last month — Utah was the exception, adding 74 Realtors to its member count in December. 

From April to the beginning of January, 37 of the 54 states and territories reporting membership numbers saw net losses, with six state associations posting declines of more than 5%: Rhode Island, Wyoming, Vermont, Colorado, Louisiana and Virginia. 

Despite losing more than 2,000 members in December, California reported a net gain of more than 8,000 members since April — an increase of 4.3%. The biggest percentage increases during that time period were in Puerto Rico (8.2%) and Washington state (4.5%). 

Further declines expected

Many MLS and association leaders are already anticipating reductions in member counts. A recent T3 Sixty survey of over 200 real estate association and MLS executives found that more than 70% are budgeting for a projected decrease in membership, citing a combination of external and internal factors. 

However, survey respondents don't see major losses in the year ahead: 65% anticipate membership declines in the 1-10% range, while just over 7% expect losses of 11-20%.