The National Association of Realtors released its first quarterly progress report on its 2026–2028 Strategic Plan this week, saying it had initiated work on nearly two-thirds of the plan’s roughly 75 projects in the first three months.
Across seven priority areas — from housing advocacy to governance reform — the organization gave itself good marks, framing the update as part of a broader effort to restore member confidence in the wake of years of legal and reputational turbulence.
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“This plan was built for action,” NAR CEO Nykia Wright said in the report. “Rebuilding trust requires more than words — it requires visible progress. That’s why we’re committed to sharing clear, regular updates that show members how this work is making a real difference.”
A legislative milestone on housing supply
The most prominent item in the update is the Senate passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which NAR is calling one of the most significant pieces of housing legislation in nearly two decades. The association said its own consumer sentiment research helped advance the bill, and that it mobilized members to respond to targeted congressional calls to action in both chambers. The bill still faces a path through the House.
The legislative push is the culmination of a sustained advocacy effort — NAR has backed the ROAD to Housing Act since it was introduced in late 2024, and the bill previously cleared the Senate before stalling in the House when it was dropped from the National Defense Authorization Act. Housing supply has nonetheless emerged as one of the few truly bipartisan issues in Washington, D.C., NAR Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn has frequently said.
The association has recently cited a national shortage of 4.7 million homes as the driving urgency behind its push for the ROAD to Housing Act. In prior years, NAR researchers pegged the housing shortage at 5.5 million to 6.8 million units. But how large the gap actually is remains an open question: estimates range from roughly 1 million to 10 million homes depending on methodology, Eric Finnigan, vice president of demographics research at John Burns Research and Consulting, told Inman last week.
Member tools, brand work and governance reform
Beyond advocacy, NAR pointed to a 22 percent increase in member usage of its Metro Market Statistics Dashboard after adding new supply gap and shortage tracking tools. A consumer ad campaign launched around the tagline “Right by You” is being targeted at first-time buyers using AI-driven placement.
On broker engagement, the association reported 35-plus live events across 21 states, along with the launch of the smallbroker.realtor landing page for smaller firms. On governance, NAR said it reviewed more than 95 committees and advisory bodies representing over 2,000 volunteer roles, ultimately sunsetting eight of them.
Notably absent from the update was any substantive engagement with the debate over private listings and pre-marketing — one of the most pressing and contentious issues in the brokerage industry right now. The only reference in the quarterly report was a coming-soon listings checklist and FAQ tucked into the MLS collaboration section.
Quarterly updates are expected throughout the year.
