National realtor association CEO suddenly quits in the wake of a massive sex scandal and a pricing conspiracy that cost the industry $1.8 billion
Bob Goldberg, the 66-year-old chief executive of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), had planned to retire at the end of next year. But after a tumultuous three months of sex scandals and pricing conspiracies, his plans changed.
Goldberg suddenly announced his resignation on Thursday, two days after a federal jury ruled that NAR orchestrated a conspiracy to inflate home commissions and three months after the organization’s sexual harassment and discrimination allegations were exposed.
“After announcing my decision to retire earlier this year, and as I reflected on my 30 years at N.A.R., I determined last month that now is the right time for this extraordinary organization to look to the future,” Goldberg said in a statement.
Troubles at the powerful U.S. housing market trade group began in late August when the New York Times published a report detailing sexual harassment accusations against the organization’s president, Kenny Parcell. Parcell resigned two days later. Critics also targeted Goldberg, demanding his immediate resignation and some realtors telling the Times that he failed to address sexual misconduct complaints for years.
The fallout didn’t end there. After the article, real estate brokerage Redfin announced on Oct. 2 that it was cutting ties with the group. Redfin said in a statement that this decision had been a “long time coming,” and, “we’d already been uncomfortable with the NAR’s positions on commissions when we read reports of sexist behavior and sexual harassment,” referring to NAR’s high realtor commission rates, which counters Redfin’s below-market rates.
And two days ago—in what may have been the final straw for Goldberg—NAR and some of the largest U.S. real estate brokerages were charged with artificially inflating the commissions paid to real estate agents. NAR and the other brokerages must pay $1.8 billion in damages to the 500,000 home sellers in Missouri and in some nearby out-of-state towns represented by the class-action lawsuit, which was originally filed in 2019. NAR said in a statement it plans to appeal the verdict.
A spokesperson for NAR told the Times that Goldberg’s sudden exit is not related to the organization’s legal woes or sexual harassment allegations.
Goldberg will be replaced by Nykia Wright, former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, as interim chief executive on Nov. 20 while the organization searches for a permanent replacement. Goldberg will serve as executive consultant through the leadership transition.
