This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Brooklee Han: You are coming into the presidency while NAR is in the midst of a lot of change. How are you viewing this challenge and how do you hope to tackle it?
Kevin Brown: I believe that my predecessor Kevin Sears and Nykia Wright have gotten the association back to basics and that really set a strong foundation for us to move forward with in 2026. One of the things that we are focusing on is understanding what our members’ needs are. We need to listen to our members and understand their needs but we also need to anticipate what their needs are for the future. I think we are in a good position to move forward with that in mind.
BH: The membership has asked for and pushed for increased transparency from the organization. What are some of the things you are exploring as you work toward that goal?
Brown: One of the things we are doing is listening more so than we ever have before. We’re doing a lot of outreach and when we, the entire leadership team, goes out, it would be disingenuous for us to just give our remarks and leave, so we are actually listening to the members. We are encouraging them to ask questions, and we want to have a dialogue, know what is on their mind, and what the issues are no matter whether they are good or bad.
We are also implementing the Strategic Plan starting in January 2026 and that really lays out the course for our future. We feel that is very transparent as we are laying out the road map for the future for members. In addition, we are going to be communicating with our members and Nykia on a quarterly basis to let them know what our progress is with the strategic plan.
We are also starting to release an annual report beginning next year that will talk about what we accomplished in 2025 and what we are doing in 2026. We’ve never done that before. Additionally, we will continue meeting with big brokers on a continuous basis, and we are going to continue to engage in dialogue with them and our stakeholders.
BH: There has been a lot of news lately about some of those conversations with big brokers. Can you tell me a bit about how those conversations are going?
Brown: One of the things that big brokers have mentioned is they want to put someone from outside the industry, someone who is independent on our board or on our executive committee. We have a large board — a little over 1,000 members and under the IRS definition, they are all independent directors. They don’t have any kind of conflict of interest or investment ties or anything else to the National Association of Realtors, so they are in fact independent. Just like many other trade organizations, we are a member-led association and we will continue to be a member-led association.
With that being said, there are some ways that we can streamline our governance. I know that we’ve done a study with over 100 of our members, 86 committees and our liaisons to see how we can streamline the process and become more efficient. We will continue to look at ways that we can be more effective while also streamlining our governance.
BH: I know that members love being part of the governance of the organization, but at the same time they are pushing for this efficiency and streamlining, so how are you working on balancing those competing interests?
Brown: It is definitely a challenge. Nobody wants to vote themselves out of a position, but I think a lot of the decisions that are being made right now are being made within a smaller group — at the executive committee level or the leadership team level. Historically, a lot of these decisions were made at the board level. They are still going through the committees and that entire process before coming to the executive team, and the executive team has the ability to move things to the full board if they want.
BH: While Realtors may disagree about many things when it comes to NAR, the majority are still strong supporters of NAR’s advocacy work. Can you provide us with any information about what we can expect from NAR’s advocacy efforts in 2026?
Brown: What we are really focused on is released inventory. The whole housing and affordability issue is contingent upon us being able to unleash inventory. We have a number of bills that we’re supporting, one concerns capital gains tax, and we are very excited about that. We think that would unleash some immediate inventory into the marketplace.
It has been estimated that about 29 million American homeowners would be faced with unfavorable capital gains treatment because they are over the $250,000 exclusion, so they are locked in and not selling their homes. This bill would allow these homes to be freed up and allow the owners who want to sell, to sell.
The other thing is that the average age of the new first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old, which is absolutely ridiculous. We want to make sure that there is enough housing on the market and that our members are an essential service in the real estate industry, and we want to protect their independent contractor status.
BH: The current administration is clearly focused on this housing affordability challenge. Knowing this, how are you feeling about NAR’s odds at succeeding in some of these advocacy efforts?
Brown: It makes me feel really good, and I believe that something will happen in the next year with capital gains. It is really promising that it is a bipartisan issue and that both Democrats and Republicans agree that something needs to change. They go about it a bit differently, but I’m hoping that something will happen within the year.
BH: NAR is over 100 years old. The past few years have been rather turbulent for the industry and the association. How are you hoping to see the organization evolve so it is able to tackle these next 100 years?
Brown: I think that we are positioning ourselves for the future right now with the Strategic Plan, and we will make changes along the way with this plan if we need to re-evaluate things. We are positioning ourselves for the future, and we are anticipating the needs of our future members.
We are making a lot of internal changes. For Kevin Sears and Nykia, their focus was really on back to basics and mine is back to business. We are leveling up in areas that our members already find valuable, like our advocacy program and the amazing research that we do and the technology we provide our members to help them get to their next transaction.
For me, a lot of this is fueled by my ‘why,’ and that is, that I feel like this work is important. What we do helps create intergenerational wealth and it drives the American economy forward. And I think focusing on that, that is how we are going to get back to business.
BH: If we sit down again a year from now and have a conversation reflecting on your year as NAR president, what do you hope that we’ll see differently and how do you hope to see the organization evolve under your leadership?
Brown: I hope that we are going to be an efficient organization. That we are going to streamline our processes and that we have added value to our members. I hope that we anticipate what the future needs of our members are and that we going to be the advocacy powerhouse that I know we are.
I hope that we’ve attacked the inventory issue and that we are also advancing our technology and creating more technology for our members to use that helps them succeed in business.
We are also going to be focused on finance and insurance challenges for consumers and members, and we are going to be focused on restrictive zoning barriers and other obstacles to homeownership because that is what our members really care about. If we can accomplish some of those goals, then I think we will just keep building the foundation for Christine Hansen for her year to come.
I also want to note that listening is the new normal at NAR. We are going to continue to engage and listen to our members and allow them to shape the initiative that we are undertaking and how we best serve them.
