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You've set goals for 2025: Do you have the support you need to achieve them? You might be surprised to see what resources are available to you as a member of the National Association of REALTORS®—everything from rich property data to professional websites to amazing education programs that will give you an edge in your chosen niche.
So how can NAR membership empower you to reach your specific goals?
Here are four benefits that support your business:
Advocacy: Direct Impact on Local, State and Federal Decisions
Advocacy teams at every level of the federated organization—local, state and national—work around the clock to make sure members have a voice in the halls of power, whether that’s city hall, the statehouse or Congress.
Legislative Monitoring and Influence
“There is no such thing as a federal issue versus a state or local issue,” says NAR Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn. “If it impacts one of us, it impacts all of us. Collaboration at all levels is essential to our overall success.”
At the national level, members have a voice in federal policies and legislation by supporting NAR’s advocacy team, which monitors legislation and agency rules, provides expert guidance to federal agencies, speaks out in congressional testimonies and engages with members of Congress.
“At any given moment, our advocacy team is monitoring hundreds of issues, policy proposals, rules and bills that directly impact the real estate economy—from Congress to the courts to the administration,” says McGahn. During the last Congress alone, we helped defeat 11 tax measures that would have devastated the real estate sector.”
In 2024, NAR’s lobbying team and federal political coordinators, who are volunteers assigned to Congressional members, held more than 5,000 meetings with congressional staff and members—an average of nearly 14 meetings a day. In addition, the advocacy team sent 20 letters and held numerous meetings with the White House and federal agencies regarding proposed regulations and administrative actions.
This past January, staff and volunteers converged in Washington, D.C., for NAR’s inaugural Advocacy Week, where attendees learned about 2025 priorities—like tax reform relating to the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—and prepared for meetings on Capitol Hill.
One critical advocacy tool is the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC), which supports political candidates—both Republicans and Democrats—who champion real estate priorities. Electing candidates who not only advocate for REALTOR® priorities—such as homeownership and affordable housing—but defend against detrimental real estate proposals benefits every NAR member.
For some candidates, the REALTOR® connection is personal.
“Having a chance to take the profession that I love and be able to give a little bit back to it because it's given me so much, that's the exciting part. But it's [also] extremely humbling,” says Florida State Rep. Danny Nix Jr., a commercial agent and past president of the REALTORS® of Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port-DeSoto. With support from RPAC, he was elected in November to serve his first term in Florida’s House of Representatives.
“Florida Realtors® has been really big in helping me achieve my goals, and anytime you say that a state association has done something, NAR is a part of that as well,” Nix says.
The strategy doesn’t stop at elections. NAR offers grants to local and state associations to help their communities thrive. Last year, NAR awarded 614 Community Outreach Grants and advocacy assistance applications and 85 Issues Mobilization Grants, totaling more than $4 million and $14.6 million respectively.
Real-World Advocacy Success Stories
The results are real. Just ask the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, which leveraged an NAR Issues Mobilization Grant to launch an education campaign and combat a counterproductive rent control measure.
The campaign helped convince Medford city council to reconsider and focus instead on affordable housing tools already at its disposal.
“Beyond the resources available from NAR, it’s the...REALTORS® on the ground and in the neighborhoods who are the secret sauce of successful advocacy,” Baumer says.
Research: Bespoke Data and Trends to Stand Out
Being a member of the National Association of REALTORS® means having access to the preeminent real estate research in the country.
The Importance of Reliable Market Data
“Members are better positioned [than nonmembers] to explain market conditions and trends to clients and potential clients,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The local market or neighborhood specific area conditions will naturally differ somewhat from the national trends, and, therefore, agents who are REALTORS® can reinforce their value by showing the divergent local statistical patterns with what people read and hear in the media.”
NAR’s research team publishes statistical releases, like the monthly existing-home sales and pending home sales, as well as research reports, including the annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
“The survey team gathers market intelligence on nearly every factor involving home transactions, from obstacles that home buyers have overcome to succeed in the purchase to what home sellers do with the proceeds from the sale of a home,” Yun says. “We gather data on housing affordability, the prevalence of multiple offers, changes in inventory, the presence of foreign buyers and rent trends in the apartment sector. Those are just some of the data points we analyze to help our members comprehend the latest trends and provide value to their clients.”
Topline data is available at no charge to members at nar.realtor/research-research-and-statistics. Members have access to discounted rates on complete reports.
Leveraging Data for Client Success
Mark Donnelly, ABR, CRS, an associate broker at Howard Hanna Coach REALTORS®, in West Islip, New York and former chair of NAR’s research committee, recently spoke about the importance of having access to reliable data.
“I think it's every agent's goal to be the trusted real estate advisor for the people in their lives,” Donnelly said. “The sources we go to are the ones we trust the most, and those are the ones that are going to make us feel confident in relaying that information that is helpful to us and therefore helpful to the people that we serve. It's a very, very loud world that we live in. I used to say that an informed agent is a successful agent, and I've added to that, and it's an informed, accurate and positive agent is a successful agent.”
While data can be dense and easy to misinterpret, NAR’s world-class research team makes metrics relatable and helpful to the masses. Staff leaders like Yun and Deputy Chief Economist Jessica Lautz answer countless requests from the media, making themselves available to share the facts of the market while reinforcing the value of agents who are REALTORS®.
In addition, NAR members have access to a suite of consolidated data and business tools through NAR’s Realtors® Property Resource at no additional cost. RPR® is a residential and commercial property database that integrates with most MLS data and provides relevant property information, including school reports, Census demographics and tax details.
The resource is user-friendly and accessible, available on desktop, iOS and Android phones, and has become a tremendous tool in the industry.
The numbers speak for themselves: In just the first 11 months of 2024, more than half a million users generated about 3.3 million reports and clocked in nearly 18 million sessions on the platform.
Education: Professional Growth
Knowledge is not only power but confidence. Agents who confidently articulate their knowledge about the business, provide better service, Robert Morris, a certified real estate trainer said on a podcast episode of “Drive With NAR.”
“I think it's a great time to be in the business and to actually talk about our value proposition and prove our worth in the transaction going forward,” Morris said. He added that real estate certifications and designations can help do that.
Access to Certification and Designation Courses
NAR members have discounted access to select certification and designation courses to further their growth and pursuits in specialization.
Charlene Roberge, CCIM, SRS, broker-owner of Lagonda Creek Real Estate in Springfield, Ohio, has an impressive 17 designations.
“I first started getting designations right after I got my real estate license because I really didn't have anybody that was helping teach me,” Roberge said on NAR's podcast. “So, I took the [Graduate, REALTOR® Institute] designation first, which is an amazing designation that teaches you pretty much everything you need to do for selling real estate. But I didn't feel that was enough, so I kept going on."
Specialized Designations for Market Expertise
Designations like the Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR®), Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) or Seller Representative Specialist (SRS®) enable members to differentiate themselves as experts in specific markets.
“The designations have made it possible for me to be extra educated.” Roberge said. “When I go out and meet with a client, I can tell them that I have multiple designations and that they keep me on top of what's going on in the community, what's going on with the law, what's going on nationally. And I think clients like that. They want to know that you're dedicated and that you're professional and you're working towards your career every day.”
In light of industry practice changes, NAR provided the ABR® course—a $295 value—at no cost to members from late February through the end of 2024. Nearly 162,000 members participated in the course.
Morris recommended the ABR® and SRS® designations for any agent looking to better refine their chops in 2025.
“Right now, the premier designation for buyers representation is the ABR®,” Morris said in the podcast episode. “[Buyer’s agents] need that particular course. It's been updated. It's got the new information in it based on the changes that we've had in the industry...On the seller's side, that's the SRS...That gives them the specialized training to how they service the seller in a transaction.”
In addition, members have access to on-demand training programs on topics like fair housing and ethics and leadership, as well as the opportunity to hear from dozens of industry experts in person at any of NAR’s conferences.
Community: Growing Your Network
It may seem like an oxymoron to say NAR, an organization with more than a million members, creates a close-knit community. But that’s exactly what members are saying.
Jairo Rodriguez, ABR, CIPS, an agent with Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty in Montclair, N.J., recalls joining the North Central Jersey Association of REALTORS® in 2015.
“It's a little bit intimidating when you come into a new industry and you're learning everything,” he says. “You don’t know how the boards operate, you don't know anything about committees. But I had someone that kind of saw something in me that maybe I didn't see myself.”
Rodriguez remembers how Dana Williams, NCJAR’s 2017 president, encouraged him to get involved.
“I kind of borrowed Dana's confidence in me,” Rodriguez says. He joined the Young Professionals Network in 2016, became the advisory board’s chair at the local level in 2018, the state chair in 2020 and the national chair in 2023.
He fondly calls YPN members his “tribe.”
“I consider many of them my family,” Rodriguez says. “What I love is that collaboration. Everyone's willing to share and help each other out no matter what company you're with, no matter where you're from in the country.”
For Rodriguez, that camaraderie and mission-oriented mindset felt reminiscent of his time as an airborne operation specialist in the U.S. Air Force.
He’s particularly proud of the impact he had as the 2023 national chair on inspiring others to strive for leadership roles.
“When we had our YPN Advance [an annual gathering of local YPN chairs from around the country], I had so many people come up to me and say that they were inspired because I'm Hispanic,” Rodriguez says. “These people were also Hispanic, and they were like, ‘Dude, I've always wanted to see if I can get involved, but I never thought I even had a shot.’ Now, two years later, many of [them] are either serving on the local boards, they're in their leadership academy or things like that.”
This atmosphere of inspiration and connection is not unique to YPN; it’s prominent in many NAR programs.
Stacy Horst, an agent with Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners in Fernandina Beach, Fla., found another community through NAR—even when she wasn’t looking for it. Horst didn’t expect to find camaraderie when she put her name in the running for NAR’s Good Neighbor Awards, which honors members who make an extraordinary impact through community service.
“Most people who are in roles such as these are not necessarily those people who are going to stand up and toot their own horn,” Horst says. “I nominated myself because of the grant that would be awarded and benefit our charity.”
In 2015, Horst founded a in memory of her daughter, Erin, who died by suicide. The organization, Erin’s Hope for Friends, is dedicated to teens and young adults with autism spectrum disorder. In the last decade, the nonprofit has mushroomed with volunteers and community programs.
NAR named Horst a winner in 2024 and presented her with a $10,000 grant, which she plans to use to add a program for adults 25 and older.
But a check isn’t the only prize Horst took home. She also gained a network of like-minded professionals in the Good Neighbor Society, which meets each year during NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience—the association’s annual conference.
“There was not a dry eye in that room. One person put it very succinctly that it's amazing the amount of good that can come out of pain,” she says.
Beyond the dose of inspiration and network of new friends, Horst says the award has elevated her status professionally.
“People knowing that I won this award and why, I think that it shows them a different side of me than just the salesperson who’s trying to help them buy or sell a house,” she says. “There has to be a huge trust factor when you're working with somebody to help them spend the most amount of money they’re probably ever going to spend in their lifetime. I think it gives [me] credibility because it's something that's very genuine.”
Discover the full range of NAR membership benefits designed to support your career and business success.
