One of the real estate industry’s largest conferences touched down in the Crescent City over the weekend, and I joined around 10,000 other attendees who packed into the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
It was my first time attending NAR NXT — with more than 200 exhibitors and 100 speakers, the numbers were staggering — and the overpacked agenda was filled with experiences centered around the themes of innovation, education and connection. Here are my eight key takeaways from the event.
Credit: Eric Grossman
1. NAR leadership says it is listening
Friday started off with a bang, as a standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,000 brokers showed up for the conference’s first-ever Broker Innovation Forum. NAR CEO Nykia Wright and Chief Economist Lawrence Yun touched on the pressing matters facing the industry.
Yun noted that while housing affordability remains a hurdle, consumer and agent sentiment is also weighed down by negative psychology rather than economic reality. “We are not in a recession,” he said. “We are in a tight labor market, which means jobs are strong. Wages are growing.”
NAR leadership shared that the association has expanded direct outreach — hosting nearly 90 broker summits this year and seeing a 62 percent jump in participation for Broker Power Hour — to deliver practical, ready-to-use resources like customizable consumer guides and AI policies.
NAR President Kevin Brown said that outreach grew from a recognition that brokers had not always been included enough in the association’s conversations. “The number one thing is listening,” he said.
2. Ryan Serhant: Trust is the new competitive advantage
As one of the most recognizable brokers among TV audiences, Ryan Serhant drew a large crowd to his featured speech on Friday. The CEO of SERHANT. encouraged agents navigating shifting and uncertain markets that “markets don’t dictate your income, they only dictate your strategy,” urging the audience to focus on immediate, controllable work rather than stressing over an unpredictable future.
Sounding at times like a motivational coach, he framed optimism as a deliberate choice. “Optimists are successful; pessimists are right,” he noted, while arguing that a growth-oriented mindset separates top performers from those paralyzed by fear.
He also shared that his brokerage provides support staff with AI tools to reduce administrative friction so agents can spend more time building human relationships, as evidenced by a 44 percent average production increase for agents using their internal systems. “Today, intelligence is cheaper, and trust is expensive,” he said. “That’s our value proposition.”
3. Anticipating AI’s impact on real estate
Throughout the weekend, panelists examined the impact of AI on the profession, with spirited debates covering the ethical responsibilities of Realtors using AI and whether a unified federal AI policy framework is needed.
Spencer Fane attorney Yana Rusovski and WAV Group’s Kevin Hawkins (aka “The REAL AI Guy”) were among the experts who highlighted rising threats such as deepfakes, bad actors impersonating agents or property owners and cyber-attacks targeting sensitive client transaction data.
While acknowledging the industry’s rapid acceptance of AI tools, many in attendance pointed out the rewards (such as automating low-value tasks like appointment scheduling, document formatting and email outreach) while voicing concerns about data privacy exposure and misinterpretation of market analytics.
4. Reba!
Figuring out the event’s biggest draw wasn’t hard, as thousands of attendees could be seen donning the weekend’s most prized giveaway — a soft pink cowboy hat that proclaimed “Reba loves Realtors.” Alongside her manager and former real estate agent, Justin McIntosh, the Realtor.com spokesperson delivered the general session address, “The Real Deal: Strategy & Storytelling With Reba McEntire.”
The multi-faceted performer and businesswoman detailed her entrepreneurial journey, including how she’s built a lasting brand, navigated change and stayed true to herself. McEntire, who last week told Inman that she could see herself as a real estate agent, shared anecdotes ranging from her experiences growing up on an 8,000-acre ranch in Oklahoma (“One itty-bitty bathroom, three bedrooms…I can still smell how the house smelled”) to her lasting memories of Dolly Parton.
“I’ve never met a person or known a person that’s so universally loved like Dolly,” she said. “I’ve never heard anything bad about her. She was that special of a person.”
Ahead of the event, Realtor.com Chief Consumer and Marketing Officer Mickey Neuberger explained why the company went with Reba to be the face of their Nearly Home campaign. “Reba brings a level of authenticity, trust and optimism that really resonates with people,” Neuberger said. “Our Reba campaign continues to outperform, helping us connect with buyers and sellers across the country.”
“Bringing her to NAR NXT, in front of thousands of Realtors, was a natural next step and a full circle moment for Reba … This moment is about celebrating the professionals who help people get home.”
5. BrokerBot takes top prize in pitch battle
Six startups took the stage to close out Saturday, each with four minutes to make their best pitch before facing questions from a panel of judges. The eighth annual NAR Tech & Innovation Pitch Battle saw BrokerBot and co-founder Jerimiah Taylor emerge as the winners of the $15,000 prize.
The company offers a customized brokerage-trained AI assistant that can answer agent questions and support onboarding, transaction coordination, CRM administration and marketing — providing a safer alternative than a public-facing AI chatbot.
6. John Rogers on AI: Trust but verify
During his closing keynote speech on Sunday, John Rogers — Cotality’s chief data and analytics officer — sounded bullish at the prospect of real estate professionals utilizing AI to research topics, crunch data and streamline administrative tasks.
“Spend the time you get back from AI for more meaningful human connection,” said Rogers, who oversees 300 experts and scientists at the property data company formerly known as CoreLogic. “That is the real superpower.”
Rogers showed a video in which an agent described a buyer meeting that had an unexpected third participant: Claude, the AI chatbot. “There were three people in the room,” the agent recalled. And instead of accepting every AI-generated answer, the agent challenged its information at times, drawing from her own market experience.
Along those lines, Rogers was quick to offer words of caution, noting that AI needs reliable data and human oversight. “Trust but verify,” he concluded.
7. Parties!
This being New Orleans, attendees were often overheard discussing their dinner plans or recapping the previous night’s festivities. Bank of America brought some tastes of the Big Easy to their tailgate party, which featured jambalaya and beignets, as well as a life-sized beer pong setup that had well-dressed brokers jumping and cheering with each successful toss. (Don’t worry, the oversized cups were empty and no beer was wasted!)
The biggest official event saw thousands returning to the convention center on Friday night for the NXT Fest, which featured welcome remarks from Gayle Benson, owner and CEO of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, as well as a lively 12-piece band, dancers on stilts and ample food and drink.
8. Puppies!
Credit: Eric Grossman
The most heart-warming scene on the convention center floor could be found at the “puppy lounge,” where Jenni’s Rescue Ranch brought a gaggle of adorable, adoptable puppies for attendees to swoon over. Nothing reduces stress and fatigue like cradling a weeks-old pup, as demonstrated by the near-constant line to enter the penned-in space.
Numerous attendees were seen inquiring about taking a puppy home with them. (The Texas-based organization can ship to anywhere in the continental US for a $270 transport fee. The adoption fee is $400, which includes spaying, neutering, microchipping and vaccinations.) Talk about the ultimate souvenir from a packed weekend of networking and education.
