Another bomb was dropped on the National Association of Realtors this week. Only roughly five months after being appointed President, Tracy Kasper has stepped down. In a statement, NAR said that she "received a threat to disclose a past personal, non-financial matter unless she compromised her position at NAR."

This unfortunate event comes at a terrible time for the organization. Kasper was appointed after her predecessor, Kenny Parcel, resigned after The New York Times ran an article documenting the accusations against him and the culture of fear that the organization had fostered.

When Kasper took office, she urged change. "It is important to all of us at NAR that we take this moment to learn and focus on building a culture of camaraderie where we can do the good work we are all so passionate about. And, when an issue arises, that we all feel safe to say something," her official statement read.

As honest and forthright as she was about changing the organization, she was also implicated as part of the problem by some. After she was promoted to President in the wake of the scandal, a letter was written by anonymous staffers that called for "the resignation of 2024 President Tracy Kasper as a primary contributor to the hostile work environment."

The letter didn't pull any punches. "For Tracy to promise to stop the bullies, when she is in fact one of them, leaves us with little faith anything will change," it read. "We are not children. We are professionals with decades of experience, some with master's and even doctorate degrees. We are not fooled, nor are we accepting that they will do the right thing."

It also made very clear that Kasper knew of the sexual misconduct by her predecessor: "We hear Tracy, and we also ask ourselves how she 'missed it.' The truth, however, is she didn't. Nor did those internal leaders who are in positions of power that did nothing to protect staff, namely Bob Goldberg, Donna Gland, and Katie Johnson.

And while Tracy shames the individual(s) who leaked an internal memo and those who expose(d) its contents – versus those who tried to bury it but got caught — keep in mind that the only reason that memo exists is because staff had no one they could go to whom they trusted in TDR, Legal, nor our CEO."

The blackmail threat against Ms. Kasper could have come from anyone; there is no evidence that it was the work of one of these same staff members. NAR has plenty of other enemies right now, including the plaintiffs in many of the commission lawsuits that they are fighting across the country. But the demands of the blackmailer, that Kasper steps down from her role as President of NAR, certainly seem like ones that would be made by someone with a personal vendetta, not a legal agenda.

If the staffers are indeed behind the threat, it's likely they could claim responsibility for it. Their previous letter suggests they're not hesitant to make their motives public. Additionally, the fact that the individuals they blamed in the letter still hold leadership roles in the company might indicate that this threat serves as a cautionary message, hinting at potential consequences if their other demands are not addressed.

🕳 Such empty: The amount of vacant office space in America hit 19.6% (according to Mood’s Analytics), the highest rate since 1979.

😈 Dirty money: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced the creation of a database of information on firms as an effort to unmask shell company owners. She is also considering additional steps to reduce the use of commercial real estate for money laundering.