“In about half the U.S., including in cities like Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Long Island, Minneapolis, Nashville, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, we can’t quit NAR individually or en masse, because NAR membership is required for agents to access listing databases, lockboxes, and industry-standard contracts.”
Redfin has paid NAR more than $13 million in dues since 2017 to lobby against the lobby. NAR still blocks listings that don’t pay the buyer’s agent and keeps for-sale-by-owner homes off sites like Redfin.com. A broker must pay dues for every agent under her, whether they want in or not. That is not a trade association. It is a toll booth on the front door of every house for sale.