The National Association of Realtors’ Washington, D.C. office building. The association has been buffeted by controversy and demands for change. iStock photo

Massachusetts real estate leaders are standing by the beleaguered National Association of Realtors, saying its long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term turmoil now engulfing the 1.5 million-member organization.

Since last August, NAR has been hit by seemingly non-stop controversies, starting with sexual harassment allegations that led to the resignation of then-president Kenny Parcell.

Former NAR chief executive Bob Goldberg, whose resignation some association staffers demanded, announced in November he was retiring after a federal jury in Missouri ruled that the organization and two brokerage firms effectively colluded to keep agents’ commissions artificially high.

And just earlier this month Tracy Kasper, who succeeded Parcell as president of NAR, abruptly resigned, saying she was the victim of a blackmail threat that compromised her leadership role at the association.

Local real estate industry figures say, publicly and privately, that the controversies are clearly an embarrassing distraction – and at least some suggest leadership changes were necessary.

“As they say, pruning makes the roses grow,” said Linda O’Koniewski, CEO of Melrose-based brokerage Leading Edge Real Estate. “There were some people there, they thought they were invincible. People and institutions go through tough times – and these are tough times for the national association.”

Katie Clancy, a sales vice president at William Raveis’ Yarmouth Port office on Cape Cod, said she’s planning to attend a NAR meeting in May in Washington, D.C., where she hopes to get answers to questions about the organization’s overall effectiveness amid the swirling controversies.

“It’s an opportunity to ask, ‘What does the association do for us?’’ she said. “I want to see how [these controversies] impact us, politically.”

But O’Koniewski, Clancy and others emphasized that they haven’t lost faith in NAR’s overall mission and importance to both members and consumers, particularly when it comes to protecting homeowners’ rights.

“I am rooting for NAR,” said O’Koniewski. “I hope, like the phoenix, it rises from the ashes.”

Critics Launch Rival Association

Local figures may still have faith in NAR, but some critics are pressing hard for changes at the national level.

Jason Haber, an agent with Compass Real Estate in New York and Florida, said in an interview that the allegations against Parcell – and NAR’s failure to promptly implement new policies after his ouster – were particularly concerning.

That’s why he helped found the NAR Accountability Project.

He said NAR has become a dysfunctional association in need of leadership and structural changes.

“It really exposes the underbelly of the organization in a bad way,” he said. “This usually doesn’t happen at other organizations. But at NAR, the unusual is the usual.”

Some of the reforms demanded by NAR Accountability Project include: an independent probe of recent sexual-harassment charges; creation of a third-party HR unit where sexual-harassment allegations can be reported; and the releasing of women from NAR non-disclosure agreements tied to recent sexual harassment charges. NAR has so far acceded to all but the final demand.

Haber predicted that the association might soon hit a “membership cliff” if alienated agents, some of whom are no longer required to join NAR thanks to some brokerages’ commission lawsuit settlements, opt to not join the trade group.

It’s a prediction he and high-profile Los Angeles broker Mauricio Umansky are trying to make happen. The duo announced the launch of a rival organization to NAR, the American Real Estate Association, at an Inman conference last week.

In a statement to Banker & Tradesman issued before Haber’s group launched, an NAR spokesperson said the trade group continues to provide value to members and consumers.

“NAR’s work ultimately serves consumers, who benefit from an industry-wide commitment to ethics and professionalism and NAR’s efforts to bolster the right to real property ownership and fair housing for all,” the statement read.

“NAR supports members through advocacy efforts as well as by offering learning opportunities and resources; proprietary tech tools; economic research and property data; legal and risk management support; special offers and savings on small business solutions; and in-person and virtual networking events,” the association added.

‘I Value What it Brings to the Table’

Alison Socha, the former president of the Greater Boston Association of Realtors and an agent at Leading Edge Real Estate, said the services provided by NAR are “immeasurable,” particularly its advocacy on issues ranging from home ownership rights to fair housing regulations.

“It’s totally valuable,” said Socha. “I value what it brings to the table.”

She specifically praised the appointment of Kevin Sears, the former head of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, as the new two-year president of NAR.

“I think we’re in tremendous position with Kevin” heading NAR, said Socha, adding she personally knows Sears, the broker/owner of Sears Real Estate in Springfield. “He’s a really good Realtor and he’s always available to help others.”

O’Koniewski agreed that Sears’s rise to the presidency at NAR is encouraging.

“He is held in very high regard,” she said. “He’s going to do great.”

But O’Koniewski said Sears, who couldn’t be reached for comment, definitely has his work cut out for him.

The recent federal court ruling on commissions – and the jury’s awarding of $1.8 billion in damages – could end up bankrupting NAR if the association doesn’t overturn the case on appeal, said O’Koniewski. And over a dozen “copycat” lawsuits have been filed in other jurisdictions seeking to litigate the same issues, significantly increasing the possible liability NAR faces.

Willam Raveis’s Clancy, who sits on the board of the Cape Cod and Island MLS, said NAR controversies have certainly hurt the organization’s short-term credibility.

“You start wondering, ‘What do I get for my dollar?’” she said. “People are talking about this.”

Yet it’s important for members to remember that NAR, and its state and regional affiliates, are needed to advocate for the industry at both the national and local levels, she said.

“The association really does fight for you and me,” said Clancy, ticking off issues that have recently been tackled by her local association, such as flood zone and transfer tax issues. “I get a ton of value from my association. The association keeps us on top of important issues.”