World Investment: NAR by the numbers

NAR by the numbers

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To all the agents in the house,

During the National Association of Realtors' four-hour board of directors meeting Monday in San Diego, the trade group that most people reading this newsletter belong to gave key figures about its operations. The biggest takeaways:

As of September 30, NAR had collected $229.6 million in dues from its approximately 1.54 million members.
Each member is slated to pay $150 in dues "for operating and advocacy" ($83 to operate and $67 to advocate). This figure is only for the National Association. It does not include dues paid to state and local Realtor Associations, nor Multiple Listings Services, the majority of which are owned by local NAR chapters.
Including non-dues revenue, NAR reported $259 million in gross revenue, and $120 million in "total net revenue."
NAR projects to have $160 million in operating reserves and $91 million in advocacy reserves by year end.
NAR has spent $31 million in 2021 on a consumer advertising campaign as of Sept. 30.
NAR's balance sheet includes $71 million in cash, $307 million in marketable securities. There is a $415 million equity investment in the aforementioned myriad subsidiaries. NAR's headquarters in Chicago and lobbying arm in D.C. combine for $40 million in the residential real estate trade group's commercial real estate debt.
No group in the country spends more on lobbying than NAR. Already this year, members have voluntarily forked over an additional $39 million to the Realtors Political Action Committee.

NAR representatives need a place to decompress after all that advocacy on Capitol Hill. The trade group is commencing construction on the 9th floor of its D.C. building, after construction was recently completed on its 8th floor.

Agents, do any of these figures come as a surprise? Where would you like to see your dues going? Is NAR doing a good job running its operations?

Please email me anonymously, mblake@housingwire.com.

Sincerely,

Matthew Blake

Senior Real Estate Reporter

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World Investment

NAR by the numbers