The president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Tracy Kasper, announced her resignation on Monday, citing a blackmail threat aimed at compromising her leadership role. Kasper revealed that she had received a threat to expose a past personal, non-financial matter unless she compromised her position at NAR. Refusing to comply, she reported the threat to law enforcement.
Tracy Kasper, a married mother of seven grown children, did not give in to the coercion and chose to prioritize the integrity of her position. The NAR, representing over 1.5 million members in residential and commercial real estate, will see President-elect Kevin Sears assume the role immediately.
Kenny Parcell, Kasper’s predecessor, resigned in August amid allegations of sexual harassment detailed in a New York Times story. NAR CEO Bob Goldberg also resigned earlier than planned in November, following a federal jury’s decision that the group and some real estate brokers were liable for a conspiracy to inflate brokers’ commissions, resulting in a $1.78 billion penalty for NAR. the National Association
In her statement, Kasper emphasized her commitment to putting the interests of NAR first, both as the current president and during her previous tenure in 2016. The NAR’s executive committee had recently implemented a lifetime ban on any elected NAR officer who resigns or is removed from office, a measure responding to Parcell’s resignation that now applies to Kasper. Kasper is the broker-owner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Silverhawk Realty in Boise Valley, Iowa, and holds the majority ownership of two other real estate companies in the state.