The future of real estate is still unwritten. Still, Nykia Wright, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) interim CEO, is encouraging members to at least help co-author it as the industry continues to face its share of challenges ahead.
“I understand that people are frustrated with things, but bring that frustration in-house so that we can be the best organization that we can be,” she said in a recent interview with NextHome CEO James Dwiggins and NextHome CSO Keith Robinson.
Wright was featured on Dwiggins’ Real Estate Insider Unfiltered podcasts and delved into her leadership approach and vision for NAR as the association has juggled legal challenges and persistent scrutiny of the association’s proposed settlement set to go into effect tomorrow.
The settlement has been a topic of debate and frustration among agents and brokers since it was announced in March. With the Aug. 17 deadline imminent, Wright defended the association’s decision during the interview, saying it was “unequivocally” the right move for the industry given the circumstances.
“We have to understand what we were faced with,” she said. “It’s not like we had an entire option set that we were given. This was the path that made the most sense for us.”
The most prominent changes hitting the industry are the elimination of buyer broker compensation offers on multiple listing services and the requirement that buyer agents get prospective clients to sign a buyer broker contract before showing a listing.
A transitory moment
Wright was named interim CEO of NAR eight months ago, following the Burnett/Sitzer verdict and an array of leadership changes—including the exit of former CEO Bob Goldberg. In that time, she has helped navigate NAR through arguably one of the most tumultuous periods.
“When you talk about CEOs, a lot of times, it’s who the person is right now. I probably was not built for yesterday, and who knows what I’m built for in the future, but right now, it makes sense based upon my background,” she said.
A newcomer in the real estate sector, Wright began her career in the financial services industry and worked as a consultant for public and private companies.
Most recently, she worked at the Chicago Sun-Times for more than five years, first as a COO and then CEO during a period when she said the industry was “under siege.” She led the legacy publication through a sweeping digital transformation and merger.
While her resume and experience handling adversity provided a foundation to face the turmoil that has ensued this year, Wright also credited NAR’s leadership team for the accomplishment.
“I can’t fix what I don’t know, so that fact that they leaned in and were able to help me understand the underlying economics of who we are as a company, our historical perspective, who the major players are, and what that meant for the lawsuit…their transparency is really what has helped me be the best leader that I can be in the current moment,” she said.
According to Dwiggins, the moment has been a “transitionary” period for real estate as uncertainty transpired due to past and present legal challenges and incoming NAR policy changes poised to change how agents and brokers conduct business.
To face what she called the industry’s “Y2K moment,” Wright said NAR immediately focused on its communication strategy early to ensure practitioners understood how changes would impact their businesses.
“It was also interesting because I would argue that it’s the first time in our recent history where we needed to tell everyone something at the exact same time,” she said. “Making sure that regardless of your business model, people understood what was happening.”
She added, “Given the tectonic plates of the foundations of the real estate market, they are continuing to change and making sure that we are able to speak to all of those audiences and companies at the same time is a very difficult task.”
Looking ahead
Wright acknowledged the frustrations the settlement spurred among real estate professionals and said NAR is committed to working to regain the support of detractors in the wake of the settlement.
“I think some people will take a while, and some people may never come back, but we are not going to count the day before evening and assume that is true, so we have a lot of work to do,” she said.
That includes listening to practitioners on how NAR can continue to provide value to their businesses.
Throughout the interview, Wright encouraged agents and brokers to “lean in” and share their opinions with NAR through different channels rather than in public forums, which she said is causing confusion among consumers and onlookers.
“This is a very, very critical moment,” she said. “Using our language in as judicious a way as possible is my plea. If we do that we will come out on the other side of this stronger than ever.”
Much of the industry wide focus in recent months has been preparing for Aug. 17, when NAR’s rule changes go into effect. However, the settlement still has to go through a final approval, slated for Nov. 26.
“November is going to be difficult, but it’s going to be doable,” she said
Looking ahead, Wright is hopeful that by building a trustworthy and transparent system where members continue to engage with NAR and work towards making the association the “preeminent trade organization across the world.”
“It’s not so much how many members we have; it’s who we are, how we show up for our members, and the value that we add to them,” Wright said.
For now, Wright will continue to lead NAR until the end of the year—when her contract is up. Her tenure as interim CEO kicked off earlier than expected last year following Bob Goldberg stepping down in the wake of the Burnett/Sitzer verdict.
While she gave no definition confirmation—or denial—when asked about possibly staying at the helm of NAR, Wright said. “I will say that I will not change anything as it relates to how my life has been designed. I bloom where I am planted, and I let the universe take care of the rest of the details. This will be no different.”
