Most MLS, association execs back NAR’s strategy — with caveats

“A growing acceptance that the ‘all-in’ membership model is under threat.”

A new T3 Sixty survey offers a candid look at where MLS and association executives stand heading into 2026, and the results are interesting. On the surface, more than 8 in 10 organized real estate leaders say they’re aligned with NAR’s three-year strategic plan. But dig a little deeper and there’s a lot of nuance underneath that headline number.

The membership picture is stabilizing, sort of. While heading into 2025 over 70% of execs expected membership declines, only 25% actually saw them. Which is good news. About 35% saw membership tick up — the rest were flat. Those predictions had influenced budgeting so I’m glad that some of the gloom and doom around membership is thawing.

The bigger story for 2026 is what happens to membership models themselves. A full 70% of respondents think new membership structures are likely to emerge this year, with agents increasingly prioritizing MLS access while dropping secondary memberships. The “all-in” model that has defined organized real estate for decades is under real pressure.

On local autonomy, there’s broad support — 68% of all respondents favor more local policy discretion, and among MLS-only executives that jumps to 85%. That aligns pretty well with the sweeping MLS Handbook changes NAR pushed through late last year. But support for autonomy and comfort with autonomy are two different things. As NAR steps back from its traditional rulemaking role, local organizations are navigating uncertain legal territory without much of a safety net. One exec put it plainly: every policy is now under careful review “to ensure we aren’t the next target.”

The organizations that thrive will be the ones that treat this new autonomy as an opportunity rather than a burden.