To access a local Multiple Listing System, where for-sale listings are posted, real estate agents are required to be members of the National Association of Realtors.
Starting Jan. 1, that will change.
Local MLSs will now have the authority to decide whether a real estate agent must be an association member to gain access.
The amendment, along with 17 other changes, will be published in the NAR's 2026 MLS Handbook. The move follows a "comprehensive antitrust risk assessment of all MLS policies," NAR said. Changes were affirmed in a November vote by the executive committee.
Property pros will be watching to see what impact the changes have. The agent organization has been at the center of broad reforms following a class-action lawsuit over commissions that the NAR settled in 2024. The association is also facing an antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice.
The trade association, according to NAR, has 1.5 million members.
“NAR will continue to review and implement policy modifications, when necessary, with transparency and in a timely manner, to ensure that policies remain current and in line with the evolving needs of our members and the industry,” Immediate Past NAR President Kevin Sears said in the announcement.