The National Association of Realtors will spend 2027 under its first zero-based budget and a new president, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., broker-owner Christine E. Hansen. The trade group’s Board of Directors approved the spending plan and installed Hansen and the rest of the 2027 leadership team at its Nov. 9 meeting during the NAR NXT conference in New Orleans, according to NAR’s account of the meeting.
The operating budget projects about $280 million in revenue and $247 million in expenses. The board passed it “by an overwhelming majority,” NAR said. On our arithmetic, those projections leave roughly $33 million of revenue above planned spending, though NAR’s summary does not characterize the gap or say how it would be used.
Spending built from zero
The bigger change is how the numbers were assembled. Under zero-based budgeting, NAR said, departments had to justify their spending from the ground up “rather than simply carry forward previous spending levels,” prioritizing initiatives and identifying measures of success. Treasurer Craig Sanford described the approach as a significant step in the association’s financial modernization, according to the release.
The plan rests on assumptions set five months ago. At the Realtors Legislative Meetings in June, the board kept national dues at $156 per member for 2027 and approved a budgeted membership figure of 1.2 million. Sanford told directors then that actual membership stood at 1,439,163 as of June 18, but that the lower number “represents an appropriate expense planning baseline, reflecting a prudent decrease in response to the continued market uncertainty and external pressure on membership.”
Directors also approved two other financial items on Nov. 9:
- Consumer advertising campaign: about $12 million in revenue and $13.7 million in program expenses for 2027.
- Capital spending: $2.42 million for technology and $3.06 million for building needs.
Hansen takes over
Hansen succeeds Kevin Brown, who led his final board meeting as president. NAR describes delivering tangible value to members as a central priority of her presidency. “What can we do to bring value to our REALTOR® members that will be substantive; that’ll be strong for their businesses, [and] to maybe even alleviate some of the stresses they have to go through?” she said in a profile published by NAR’s own news service and quoted in the meeting summary. Her stated priorities include advancing the association’s three-year strategic plan, raising awareness of member tools and resources, and “restoring pride in the REALTOR® brand.”
The rest of the 2027 team was chosen in June: Colin Mullane of Oregon as president-elect, Pete Kopf of Ohio as first vice president and Patti Fitzgerald of Florida as treasurer, along with 13 regional vice presidents who were installed at the November meeting.
What Brown pointed to on the way out
Brown used the meeting to highlight work on MLS relations, including outreach to nearly 500 MLS executives and a work group on modernizing policies. NAR said that work informed four policy recommendations approved during NXT by its Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee, covering copyright protection for listing content, local flexibility over data feed requirements and permitted uses of MLS data. RealtyWire covered one of those changes, an optional policy letting MLSs claim up to 50% of listing copyrights.
He also cited NAR’s advocacy around the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a package aimed at increasing housing supply, and the association said its attention is now turning toward implementation with federal agencies and state and local associations. NAR said it continues to push the bipartisan More Homes on the Market Act, which would raise the capital gains tax exclusion for owners selling a primary residence.
Other items NAR listed:
- Six modernized courses from its Center for REALTOR® Development are scheduled to launch Dec. 1.
- NAR said it has connected with more than 15,000 brokers through state and local summits and is on track to take part in more than 85 broker summits by year-end.
The board also gave 2026 Distinguished Service Awards to Robert J. Bailey of Aptos, Calif., and Judy Moore of Lexington, Mass., and marked the 25th anniversary of the REALTORS® Relief Foundation, which NAR said has provided more than $54 million in housing assistance to more than 55,000 disaster-affected families since it was founded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
For brokers and agents, the practical takeaway is continuity on cost: dues are unchanged, and the association is planning conservatively for a smaller membership even though actual membership stood well above that baseline as of June. How zero-based budgeting changes what members actually receive will be visible only as 2027 programs roll out. More industry coverage is in our Agents & Brokerages section.
