Nar Directors Hold 2027 Dues At $156, Refer Ethics Standard

National Association of Realtors (NAR) directors voted to keep national dues at $156 per member for 2027, approved a full slate of 2027 leadership and sent a proposed new ethics standard back to committee following a split vote at the trade association’s legislative meetings last week.

Ethics proposal sent back for more work

A proposed new Standard of Practice under Article 1 of NAR’s Code of Ethics drew significant debate before directors voted 497–356 to refer it back to the Professional Standards Committee for further review.

The proposed Standard of Practice 1-17 would have required members to disclose when they lack the knowledge, information or skills about a property type or geographic area needed to adequately protect and promote a client’s interests, according to NAR’s account of the meeting. The proposal was first introduced at NAR’s NXT conference in Houston last November. 

Supporters of the proposal said the language would reinforce a Realtor’s duty to put clients’ interests first by encouraging transparency when agents work outside of their expertise. Opponents questioned how “lack of knowledge” would be defined or enforced and whether the rule could deter newer agents from taking on unfamiliar segments of a market as they gain experience.

NAR’s Executive Committee had recommended that the board defeat the measure outright. The board’s move to refer the proposal back to committee leaves existing Article 1 obligations, which includes the primary duty of members to protect and promote the client’s interests while remaining honest with all parties in the transaction, unchanged, according to NAR.

Directors did approve a separate Professional Standards change requiring any request for compensation from a seller of an unlisted property to be made no later than when an offer is presented, rather than at first contact, as was previously required. 

This debate underscores how NAR’s ethics rules may evolve in response to pressure for higher professionalism and clearer consumer protections in the wake of the commission lawsuits and increased scrutiny on industry practices like referral fees. 

Dues held steady, 1.2 million members used for planning

On finance items, directors signed off on several recommendations from the Finance Committee, including using 1.2 million members as the basis for 2027 budget planning — down from 1.4 million projected for 2026 in 2025 — maintaining national dues at $156 per member for 2027 and continuing the Consumer Advertising Campaign assessment structure from 2026.

NAR’s membership dues have held steady at $156 since 2023. 

Keeping dues flat comes as NAR continues to navigate membership declines tied to a slower transaction market, brokerage consolidation and fallout from commission litigation and policy changes.

Advocacy and strategic plan updates

NAR’s 2026 President Kevin Brown highlighted recent movement on federal housing policy, including the Senate’s advancement of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which NAR described as one of the most significant bipartisan housing packages Congress has considered in years.

The organization credited members, Federal Political Coordinators and advocacy staff for building support around housing affordability and supply measures within the bill.

CEO Nykia Wright also briefed directors on NAR’s strategic plan and organizational initiatives, with additional progress updates expected in July. Directors are scheduled to reconvene at NAR NXT in New Orleans in November.

2027 leadership team

At November’s meeting NAR will install its 2027 leadership team, some of which were chosen during the board meeting, including a treasurer in a contested race, and they approved the rest of the 2027 leadership team by consent agenda.

Patti Fitzgerald of Florida defeated Matt Ritchie of Louisiana by a vote of 506–424 and will serve as NAR treasurer for 2027 and 2028.

The rest of the 2027  leadership team will be made up of Christine Hansen (Florida) as president, Colin Mullane (Oregon) as president-elect, Pete Kopf (Ohio) as first vice president, Chris Beadling (Pennsylvania) as vice president of advocacy and Mary Dykstra (Virginia) as vice president of association affairs. 

This article was written by Brooklee Han and generated with the assistance of HousingWire Automation, then reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.