The National Association of REALTORS®’ Board of Directors on Friday selected next year’s leadership, approved a 2022 budget that forecasts 1.43 million members, and kept 2022 national dues at $150.

The subject that generated the most debate at the board meeting was a policy proposal to require that residential property addresses be disclosed and available to MLS participants and subscribers when a listing is filed. The board decided the policy provides adequate protection for sellers requesting privacy and voted in favor of the proposal.

The board meeting capped off the virtual 2021 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings. For the second year in a row, the meetings were held virtually, this year attracting 15,000 registrants compared to the typical 9,000 attendees. From May 3–13, members had the opportunity to attend streaming forums, committee meetings, education sessions, and a virtual trade expo.

While most of the directors were participating in Friday’s meeting remotely, the 2021 NAR Leadership Team attended in person at NAR’s Chicago headquarters—a sign of changing pandemic conditions. “The Leadership Team could not be more pleased to come together after 14 months apart to celebrate this renewal and signal that soon, we’ll all be together,” NAR President Charlie Oppler said.

NAR CEO Bob Goldberg added: “We’re planning for several upcoming events this year to be in person with a hybrid component. We’ll engage more members than ever before.”

MLS Policy Changes

Following a debate centered around the need to maintain the accuracy and transparency of the multiple listing service, the board approved a policy requiring submission of addresses for all listed residential properties. The policy states that “the property address for all residential listings filed with the MLS must be disclosed and available to MLS participants and subscribers at the time the listing is submitted to the MLS. Where an address does not exist, a parcel identification number or legal description of the property’s location must be filed with the MLS.” Proponents of the rule emphasized that the change doesn’t preclude sellers who need privacy from keeping their address off of publicly accessible displays of their property.

Multiple Listing Issues and Policy Committee Chair Jon Coile, who presented the recommendation to the board, said the change is in keeping with the three tenets of the MLS: efficiency, transparency, and collaboration.

In another MLS policy change, the board voted to allow MLSs to prohibit display of the sales price, at local discretion, in IDX and VOW data feeds in states where sales data isn’t publicly accessible through government records. It allows participants and subscribers to display other sales data publicly, creating a richer experience for the consumer. This change doesn’t affect local MLS rules about display of property listing photos after a property sells.

The changes are effective January 2022, and NAR will revise the Internet Data Exchange and Virtual Office Website policies and model MLS rules to reflect the new policies.

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