At Inman Connect New York, American Real Estate Association co-founder Jason Haber spoke about real estate’s reputation and why there’s room for two national real estate trade groups.
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Jason Haber was a man possessed on the Inman Connect New York stage, excitedly launching into a lecture about reclaiming professionalism in the industry after Inman founder Brad Inman asked for an update about the American Real Estate Association.
“You know, we rank under the used-car sales and customer-service opinion polls. I think that’s wrong. I think that has to change,” Haber said, punctuating every word with a swipe of his hand. “We’re the only professionalized industry that allows and accepts everyone to basically have a license. Would you go to a doctor who said, ‘Well, you know, I went down to medical boards because, you know, my Uncle Johnny, he doesn’t look so good, and he’s going to be dissected in a few years. And when he’s ready for that stent, I’ll be there.'”
“No one accepts that in any other industry. Law, medicine, you name it,” he added. “But in our industry, we’ve accepted this idea that it’s okay to be awash with non-professionals, to have everyone and their mother’s brother’s brother’s cousin.”
Before he could continue, Inman pointedly redirected Haber back to his initial question about the Association.
For Haber, the past two years have been a bit of a whirlwind; along with The Agency CEO Mauricio Umansky, he launched the American Real Estate Association at Inman Connect New York 2024.
“Right now I don’t feel like anybody is caring; we’re in a lot of trouble,” Umansky said in 2024 of his and Haber’s intentions. “We need better advocacy, we need better lobbying, we need to make sure we’re taken care of.”
The industry received AREA with mixed reactions. Some lauded the duo for boldly creating an alternative to the National Association of Realtors, which was licking its wounds after losing the Sitzer | Burnett buyer-broker commission lawsuit and facing a barrage of misconduct claims. Meanwhile, others dismissed it as a quixotic endeavor — a sentiment that Haber seemed unbothered by.
“And it was just two guys. They said we were nuts. They were right,” he said. “They said we would fail, and a lot of people thought we would just fade away. Here we are two years later.”
AREA now has 30,000 members and, last January, formed its first chapter after absorbing the NYC trade group New York Residential Agent Continuum. The Association’s 2026 annual membership fee is $20; however, agents can become founding members for $1,500 per year — a valuable tier as the group continues to eschew involvement from investors and shareholders.
“After we made this big splash two years ago at Inman, we had [venture capitalists] contacting us who wanted to invest in the company. We had to say no because it’s a black hole. Money in is not [money] out. There’s no return,” he said. “We’re adding sponsors now, and events and board members who are contributing. We’re growing our revenue, and we’ll have a sustainable model going forward. Also, we have very low overhead, too, which also helps for now.”
Haber said AREA is focused on bolstering agent professionalism through education and advocacy, expanding its member benefits and services, and shoring up its calendar with a robust schedule of virtual community calls and other online events.
“I know everyone’s focused on the member growth, and I do think it’s an important venture,” he said. “But I think what’s more important is I want agents in this room who come back in a year or two from now to think, like, AREA, they have my back,” he said. “I’m an agent showing every day like you guys are. I understand the blowback that we’re getting from the government. We’re low-hanging fruit right now in so many statehouses and city halls around the country, and we have to change the narrative of this industry, and I want AREA to be a part of that.”
Despite the criticism Haber has lobbed at NAR, the AREA leader said the organization still plays a crucial role in the industry and said agents’ choice between AREA and NAR shouldn’t be an either-or decision.
“If you’re dissatisfied, you have to have something to be a part of, to be part of the change. And we think we can be a voice. It takes nothing away from NAR,” he said. “We believe that it’s a big industry and everyone can have their land, and the ecosystem is going to be large enough for more than just one trade association.”
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