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chicago – Kevin Sears may be familiar with the circus-like atmosphere at the National Association of Realtors, and his past experiences getting gaslighted while skydiving at amusement parks prepared him for the right time to take over the nation’s largest trade organization. Ready.
Sears, a collegiate diver at Providence College in Rhode Island, worked as a stunt diver at Riverside Park (now Six Flags New England) in the 1990s before getting into real estate.
After six months as the organization’s leader, Sears is at the forefront of NAR’s efforts to fight multiple fires simultaneously.
Sears unexpectedly took over the position after Tracy Kasper resigned on January 11. The sudden appointment comes at a time when NAR and the real estate industry are facing multiple challenges. In March, NAR agreed to settle ongoing litigation that threatened to bankrupt the organization.
The signing of the settlement, and the sweeping changes it calls for, further complicates the already busy schedules of NAR presidents. That means Sears has spent much of the past six months on the road.
Sears has traveled for 138 of the 174 days since becoming president, according to a spreadsheet he keeps tracking his travels. During this time, he took 64 flights, traveled 72,000 miles and stayed in hotels for 105 nights.
That mileage included seven trips to Washington, D.C., where he met with regulators who closely follow NAR and the industry. He has been to the organization’s headquarters in Chicago six times and has also been to state and local Realtors groups across the country.
One upcoming trip is to Las Vegas, where Sears is scheduled to speak at the Inman Connect conference later this month. He spoke with Inman during a visit to NAR’s Chicago headquarters in July.
What follows is a transcript of the conversation, edited for clarity and brevity.
INMAN: You will face a room of thousands of members at Inman Connect Las Vegas. What is your message? What do you tell them?
What I’m going to tell them is where we are as of July 30th as I prepare to speak. What we need to do for our 1.5 million members across the country is show them the tremendous value they get for the hundreds of dollars they pay in dues. What changes may we need to make as an organization. We still need to be able to deliver the products, tools, resources and especially advocacy our members have come to expect.
If I have more details to share on July 30th, I certainly will. But what I will tell you is that we are looking at the numbers and we will dig into them over time to come up with a final budget and send it to the board in November as directors.
You recently met in Washington, D.C., with Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and others from the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. how is the progress? What came out of these talks?
This is very unusual. It’s usually a lawyer talking to a lawyer. I really appreciate that Jonathan Kanter specifically asked me and other leaders to come to the meeting so that we could have a conversation.
One of the phrases he used many times was, “Is there common ground?” That’s what we strive for. Is there a way for us to find enough common ground that despite our differences we can still come to an agreement and find some peace?
Assistant Attorney General Kanter set up this meeting for us – it was originally scheduled to be 60 minutes and we were there for an hour and 45 minutes – and it was very beneficial for us. Do we agree on everything? No. Got work to do? Absolutely. More meetings are expected. We recognize how important this conversation is for us.
The Department of Justice has many different investigations. They’re looking at different tables that are being updated. They are trying to reopen the NAR investigation. They’re getting their own weight in the various ongoing lawsuits. Can you reveal a little bit about what you discussed in that meeting?
We talked about this a lot. [Kanter] Say yes to additional conversations. We didn’t delve into the impact this might have on first-time homebuyers, first-generation homebuyers, minority homebuyers. They promised us to continue the dialogue on this.
What we have in common is that we care about consumers. If consumers are properly represented and we advocate for consumers, that’s a good thing. This is what we do as real estate agents. The Department of Justice cares about consumers, and they want to make sure consumers clearly understand what is going on in these written agreements.
We did touch on forms and other things you talked about.
We had conversations about the settlement and the written agreement we needed to have with the buyer and how that would be negotiated between the licensee, the real estate agent and the consumer, the buyer, to determine the appropriate amount that the buyer’s representative would be compensated for. So we had a healthy conversation about how to benefit consumers, and I think we cleared up some misconceptions or misunderstandings that we haven’t reached any agreement on yet. But we did make some good progress.
The U.S. Department of Justice has said it does not want to see compensation offered anywhere. Have they provided any clarification on advertising compensation?
The only thing I would add is that the Department of Justice will be watching this closely after August 17th. They, like us, want to ensure consumers are well informed and protected.
Can you give us an update on the changes coming to the organization?
We have a scary big check that we have to write in the first quarter of next year and then three years after that. How will we pay? What will the organization look like? I can’t give you those answers right now. But we’re all working hard and trying to figure out how exactly things are going to play out.
The budget review process will take place in September, where we will hear from senior vice presidents on the 2025 budget they are considering. The only thing we’re dealing with in Washington in May is that dues will remain the same.
You recently talked about a new communications plan that’s winning the hearts of not only real estate agents, but the public as well. Can you give me an update on the event? I think you call it an “alternative movement.” Is it effective?
Media Agency Program. We have over 500 real estate agents across the country who have self-accredited, registered and received training, and we are providing them with information and tools so they can leverage local media contacts to better tell our story and help the media get the word out Things get a little more precise.
Because what do you know? What we saw from the beginning, and was very disheartening, was that, especially with the first article published on March 15, there were so many inaccuracies – that smaller media outlets took advantage of these inaccuracies and disseminate. This is very frustrating for our leadership team. I know this is directed at members on the streets because of the chaos it creates.
We are very happy with our current media agent. We’re looking for more because the more stories we can tell our members and their customers and clients about the value we bring to transactions as real estate professionals, the better off we will be in the long run.
You will serve as president for two years. Everyone still knows you, more or less. What do members need to know about Kevin Sears?
I am a glass half full person. I’m one of those people who, when the door closes, looks for the crack in the window. I have no doubt that people will ask me if I consider myself a lucky person. Yes I do. But let me give you my definition of luck. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. If you are prepared, opportunities will present themselves. It depends on how lucky you are, right?
I’m a college diver and I’ve been gaslighted and paid for it. That was when I was working at an amusement park.
Do you have any vacation plans, or are they all on the road?
My wife and I went to Ireland for six and a half days. I took a week off there just before my second son graduated from college. This August we will be leaving and escaping to a friend’s lake house for five or six days. This past weekend, my wife, my two kids, and I spent three days on Cape Cod.
I’m trying to find balance. It’s definitely challenging. Fortunately, my wife works as a pharmacist in the oncology department at a local medical center. She’s had her hours reduced and she’s been able to travel with me and do some of this stuff. We are empty nesters, so this allows her to spend a little time with me. Even though I may not be home, we can still be together, which is nice.
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