LOS ANGELES (AP) — The CEO of the National Association of Realtors is stepping down about two months before his planned retirement, a move that comes after the industry group received a punitive ruling in federal court over its real estate guidelines. It took place just two days later. Agent fee.
Chicago-based NAR announced Thursday that Bob Goldberg will step down after a 30-year career with the industry association. Nikia Wright, former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, has been named interim successor, effective Nov. 20.
In June, Mr. Goldberg, 66, announced plans to retire on December 31st. His early departure comes amid a tough week for NAR. On Tuesday, a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, ordered trade groups and some of the nation's largest real estate brokerages to pay up. The amount of damages is approximately 1.8 billion dollars. This was because it was discovered that they had artificially inflated the fees paid to real estate agents.
The class action lawsuit was filed in 2019 on behalf of 500,000 home sellers in Missouri and some border towns. The jury found that the defendants “conspired to require home sellers to make payments to brokers representing home buyers, in violation of federal antitrust laws.”
If the court decides to award plaintiffs treble damages, NAR and the other defendants could be awarded more than $5 billion in damages, which would give plaintiffs up to a maximum of actual damages. or may receive three times the compensatory damages. NAR said it plans to appeal.
Goldberg said in a statement Thursday: “After announcing my decision to retire earlier this year, and reflecting on my 30 years at NAR, I decided last month that now was the right time for this extraordinary organization to look to the future.”
NAR said he will serve as an executive consultant during the transition to Wright.
Goldberg's departure marks the second major executive shakeup at NAR in recent weeks. In August, former NAR Chairman Kenny Purcell resigned following a New York Times report detailing allegations of sexual harassment against Utah brokers by NAR employees and members.
Tracy Kasper, NAR's president-elect at the time, took over shortly after Purcell's exit.
NAR advertises more than 1.5 million members. In order for a real estate agent to advertise himself as a real estate agent, he must be a member of NAR, having paid his dues.
Because of their size and influence in the U.S. real estate industry, trade associations have not only become targets of lawsuits but also come under scrutiny from the Department of Justice. The department filed a complaint against NAR in 2020, accusing it of enacting and enforcing rules and policies that unlawfully restrict competition in residential real estate services.
The government withdrew a proposed settlement agreement in 2021, saying it would have allowed for a broader investigation into NAR's rules and conduct.
NAR and several national brokerages are facing a separate federal lawsuit over agency fees filed Tuesday in the Western District of Missouri by the same attorneys in the Missouri case. The complaint seeks class action status for anyone in the United States who has sold a home in the past five years.
And, as a potential fallout from the 2019 lawsuit, if the court issues a final judgment, it will now require NAR and real estate brokers to pay for the commissions that real estate agents receive when selling a home and for which party to the transaction. could force changes to the rules that determine what the burden is. .
For now, planning how NAR will meet these challenges will fall to Wright, 44, who, among other tasks, steered the Chicago Sun-Times' digital transformation. .
“I am honored to join this organization at this critical time, when the opportunity to make a difference in the evolving real estate landscape has never been greater,” Wright said in a prepared statement Thursday.
