‘Unfiltered’: NAR has ‘a lot of cleaning up to do’ 

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On this episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, Craig Witt, CEO of EXIT Realty, discusses his ideas for bringing a new level of professionalism to the real estate industry and explains why he thinks it's time to create a national MLS.

In an industry where people tend to shuffle from company to company, Witt has largely stayed put. After starting his own boutique brokerage, he joined EXIT Realty as a franchisee about 20 years ago — and he's been there ever since, climbing in the company's ranks and becoming CEO in 2021. "If you're in the right place, doing the right thing, affecting the right people, then it's worth staying," Witt said.

One thing he hopes to do? Help the industry get back to "a position where the consumer looks up to us and doesn't look down at us."

Raise the bar, or 'someone's going to replace us': As a longtime brokerage leader, Witt has seen plenty of agents come and go, and he believes it should be harder for an aspiring agent to obtain a license. "The professionalism falls by the wayside when it's so easy to get in and they really don't get the education that they need, and they don't put enough deals together to really be competent," he said. 

While some agents "are doing it right," he pointed out that consumers are now "demanding" a higher level of professionalism.

"If we don't do a better job, someone's going to replace us," Witt said. "I don't see that happening too soon, but it certainly is on its way."

A continuing education overhaul: Higher standards don't end with licensing. "Continuing education every year is something that needs to be looked at, too," Witt said. "How easy it is to just click your computer and you're good for another couple of years — it just is ridiculous, that system. So it's broken. It needs to be fixed."

Litigation risk rises when brokers are stretched thin: More education and oversight can also help agents avoid getting sued. But that's challenging when a single broker manages thousands of agents. "When you've got a broker responsible for reviewing contracts and making sure that they're not doing something that's wrong or illegal that's going to get you in trouble, one broker for an entire state — or a couple of brokers for an entire state — probably is not a good thing," Witt said.

NAR has 'a lot of cleaning up to do': Witt believes change needs to start with NAR. "You have to have leadership at the top at NAR that says, 'We're setting a new standard, and the new standard is this: We're raising the professionalism in our industry, and we're rewriting how you become a licensed real estate professional. And all of you that are existing real estate professionals — we're going to give you three years to get up to speed on all these things.'"

But first, Witt said NAR "has got a lot of cleaning up to do," starting with its leadership. The organization needs to begin "hammering out a solution that's going to serve us for the next 25-30 years," he added. "Right now, there isn't a clear path forward."

Clear Cooperation should stay: The housekeeping at NAR should not include tossing out the Clear Cooperation Policy, however. While Witt acknowledged the varied opinions on the CCP, he thinks the introduction of the policy in 2020 was "long overdue" and in the best interests of buyers and sellers. "You've got to go back to what is right for the consumer," he said. 

"What do they expect, and how do I best represent them and protect their rights, along with getting my paycheck and earning it?"

The need for a national MLS: Witt also believes the creation of a national MLS "is probably long overdue."

"It's just way too hard for these small communities to sustain," he said. "You see them already starting to acquire each other and become these larger MLSs. But the amount that we've got across the country is ridiculous, and it basically is just giving people an opportunity to collect a check in many cases."