The National Association of Realtors is the largest trade association for real-estate professionals in the US, serving approximately 1.48 million members as of Dec. 31, 2025, a modest decline from 2024. It acts as the national voice and coordinating body for real estate professionals, providing advocacy, research, national policy, member services and a platform for professional standards and education. 

NAR’s work centers on member advocacy (including lobbying and policy), industry research and the promotion and enforcement of professional standards alongside education, certification and other services that help members run their businesses.

Local- and state-level Realtor bodies are organized as member-owned non-profit trade associations with missions that mirror their national counterpart.

NAR operates as the top level of a federated system: national, state and local Realtor associations form an integrated, member-driven network.

State and local associations are the day-to-day organizations that deliver member services and governance locally, while NAR provides national leadership, policy and a common set of standards that state and local bodies build on. This federated structure is the industry’s long-standing model for coordination and collective action. 

Multiple listing services historically fit into that three-way structure: many MLSs are owned or governed by local Realtor associations, and MLS governance has long been tied to the same framework.

In recent years, legal and regulatory pressure — including antitrust scrutiny, policy adjustments and local MLS experimentation — have loosened those ties and prompted a re-examination of how NAR and state- and local-level associations interact with MLSs.

The result is a move toward more decentralized governance and a period of industry “decoupling” between NAR and some MLS functions.