On Oct. 2, more than a month after a New York Times investigation reported that the president of the National Association of Realtors, Kenny Parcell, had sexually harassed at least three women, Redfin announced it is cutting ties with the group.
In a scathing letter co-signed by CEO Glenn Kelman and Redfin’s leadership team, the brokerage said this had been a “long time coming,” and it had in fact already resigned its national board seat in June, before any allegations of sexual harassment surfaced. The NAR’s policies have long been an issue. “In the many marketplaces governed by its policies,” the letter reads, “NAR still blocks sellers from listing homes that don’t pay a commission to the buyer’s agent, and it blocks websites like Redfin.com from showing for-sale-by-owner listings alongside agent-listed homes. Removing these blocks would be easy, and it would make our industry more consumer-friendly and competitive.” That claim is echoed in two antitrust lawsuits, Moehrl v. National Association of Realtors and Burnett v. NAR, in which Anywhere Real Estate was named as a co-conspirator to NAR’s practices before settling.
Since its widespread initiative to join the National Association of Realtors in 2017, Redfin claims it has paid more than $13 million in dues and has explored compromises with the group on its policies, but is now moving in another direction. And while Redfin did not disclose the number of realtors affected, it is surely in the thousands, based on its most recent 10-Q, which describes having over 5,000 current employees—other outlets have reported that figure to be 1,800 brokers and real estate agents.
“We’d already been uncomfortable with the NAR’s positions on commissions when we read reports of sexist behavior and sexual harassment, by the NAR’s president and others, based on interviews with 29 former NAR employees,” Kelman and leadership said in Redfin’s statment, linking to the Times report. “NAR was aware of the allegations for months and in some cases years, but reacted only when those allegations became public, and only after the CEO said there wasn’t a problem. Many employees described a culture of intimidation and retribution; many are still calling for more accountability.”
Several employees and executives told the Times that after years of complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation by Parcell and other leaders, not much has changed. Among those that spoke with the Times was Stephanie Quinn, NAR’s former director of business meetings and events, who said: “there is the sexual harassment, and then woven into it, this culture of fear.” Quinn also called Parcell’s behavior “predatory.” And Amy Swida, director of business meetings and events, told the Times that she was scared every day coming to work. Swida and other employees revealed that they had filed internal complaints of sexual harassment or gender discrimination. And those were only two women that spoke to the Times in detail. Although Parcell denied the accusations, he resigned two days after the report was published.
In a statement shared with Fortune, Mantill Williams, the National Association of Realtors’ vice president of communications, said: “Redfin told us in June they were planning to separate from NAR, and we respect their choice to do so. The U.S. model of local MLS [multiple listing services] broker marketplaces has long been—and still is—considered the best value in the world. NAR stands by its pro-consumer, pro-competitive guidance for affiliated local broker marketplaces that ensure equity, efficiency, transparency and market-driven pricing options for home buyers and sellers. Agent compensation is set between brokers and their clients and has always been negotiable at any point in the transaction.” In his emailed statement, Williams did not address the allegations of sexual harassment.
Still, at this time, Redfin is requiring its brokers and agents to leave NAR, everywhere it can. In about half the country, including major markets such as Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Long Island, Minneapolis, Nashville, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City, Redfin says it can’t quit NAR “individually or en masse” because a membership is required for agents to access listing databases, lockboxes, and industry-standard contracts.
“This all-or-nothing approach isn’t of Redfin’s choosing,” they said. “NAR rules require us to leave local and state associations even when our only beef is with the national association. The rules require that for a broker to be a member, she must pay dues for each of the agents under her supervision, regardless of whether an agent wants to be a member. The rules further say that if a broker isn’t a member, no agent under her supervision can be a member.”
Toward the end of its announcement, Redfin said it’s asking the National Association of Realtors to decouple local access to the tools mentioned above, particularly multiple listing services, “from support for the national lobbying organization,” later adding that “our disagreement is with NAR, not with our industry… We love our industry. We’ve tried to love NAR. But enough is enough.”
