The head of the National Association of Realtors, Bob Goldberg, will step down from that role ahead of schedule, days after a jury found the group had conspired with real estate brokerages to maintain high commissions for home sales.
Goldberg, the NAR's chief executive officer, will be replaced on an interim basis by Nykia Wright, a former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, who will start in the role on Nov. 20, according to a statement Thursday. Goldberg will serve as an executive consultant to the group.
Goldberg spent three decades at NAR and had previously announced plans to retire in 2024 before deciding to move up his timeline.
"I determined last month that now is the right time for this extraordinary organization to look to the future," he said in the statement.
The association is grappling with potentially existential threats as major brokerages pull out of the group and a set of lawsuits threatens to squeeze the association and its members. It's also facing sexual harassment allegations leveled by multiple women.
NAR has more than 1.5 million members across residential and commercial real estate. Recently, brokerages including Redfin Corp. have departed the group.
On Tuesday, a jury in Missouri awarded $1.8 billion to a group of homeowners, finding that NAR and several brokerages worked to keep commissions high. A larger case in Illinois is set to go to court next year, and the lawyers representing the Missouri plaintiffs on Tuesday filed a national suit asking for more than $100 billion in damages.
NAR has said it will appeal this week's verdict and has defended its system, in which commissions are subtracted from the seller's earnings for their home and divided between the buyer's and seller's agents according to terms laid out in the home's listing.
