what is a realtor 
a realtor is a real estate professional and a national association of realtors nar member the nar defines the term realtor as a federally registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the association and subscribes to its code of ethics 1nar requirementsrealtors are licensed professionals who facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers and are members of nar all realtors are licensed real estate professionals but not all real estate agents are considered realtors professionals who hold the title of realtor include agents who work as residential and commercial real estate brokers salespeople property managers appraisers counselors and other real estate professionals the term realtor is a registered trademark 1in 2024 1 5 million members of the nar include real estate agents brokers and associate brokers 2 realtors must belong to a local association or board and a state association 3realtors are expected to be experts in their field and must follow the nar s code of ethics with clients customers the public and other realtors among its many requirements the code of ethics says that realtors shall avoid exaggeration misrepresentation or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction realtors must pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client 4new rules for the national association of realtors expected to take effect in july 2024 may lower commissions for home buyers and sellers if a federal court approves the changes the standard 6 commission ends and sellers no longer have to propose compensation to prospective buyers and their agents nar will also require brokers to enter into written agreements with their buyers to help consumers understand what services will be provided and at what cost 5using the realtor trademarkthe nar maintains stringent rules on the use of the realtor trademark professionals who hold membership as a realtor or realtor associate on a member board are licensed to use realtor trademarks in connection with their name and the name of their real estate business the realtor trademark is prohibited from being used as part of the legal corporate name of members 6 according to the nar this is done to avoid the legal issues involved with a corporate name change if a member were suspended or expelled from the association and lost the right to use the trademark 7nar s guidelines state that if a qualified member uses the realtor trademark as part of their name it must appear in all capital letters and be set off from the member s name by punctuation the nar does not use the realtor trademark with descriptive terms or as a description of the vocation the way terms such as real estate broker agent and licensee are used the association also says that realtor trademarks are not to be used as a designation of the licensed status of a professional 86