ARA co-founder on NAR’s strengths, staying open to collaboration 

It's been a productive summer for the American Real Estate Association, which recently announced two major partnerships — with REMAX in June and Compass in July — and just last week appointed its first chief lobbyist.

Scaling up is the goal, but Co-founder Jason Haber recognizes that'll take time. He also realizes that the ARA is seen by some in the industry as a potential competitor to the National Association of Realtors, though he and fellow Co-founder Mauricio Umansky "never talk about being a rival."

"This idea that we could do the things that NAR does is simply preposterous, given their scale, how long they've been around. That will take decades," Haber said during a recent appearance on The Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast. "But we're early days here. I'm very proud of the early work that we've done, and I hope to build on it."

What sparked the ARA: The ARA emerged from the NAR Accountability Project, which Haber formed after reading a 2023 New York Times report on sexual harassment allegations at NAR. His "first thought" after reading the story was that "everyone's gonna come out and make statements about who needs to go and what needs to happen."

"What struck me — I mean, what blew my mind — was the silence," he said. "Not the allegations, as bad as they were. It was the silence of this industry that really shook me."

Haber said he came to understand that silence "was rooted in the culture of the industry at that time, which is that NAR had this enormous power and weight and influence." As a result, "people were okay to turn the other way," he said. "To me, that was the greater sin."

A mission to 'elevate': The goal of the ARA, he explained, is "to elevate the industry — whatever that means, whatever that looks like."

"We think higher standards are important," he said, later adding that "no agent is forced to join" the ARA. He and Umansky "want to be the trade group you want to join, not the trade group you have to join. Big difference between the two."

Aligning with agent priorities: Haber believes agents today want "to have a group that can respond to their needs or in flashpoints or moments of crisis," and they want to know that it's led by people who understand their day-to-day.

"I know what it's like to be an agent right now," he said. "I think that informs our decision-making because we're not in any ivory towers."

Inviting 'different perspectives' to sign on: "What we want to do is to be this voice in the industry," Haber said, and to do that, "you need members."

REMAX and Compass bring "different perspectives," which Haber believes is important. "I want them both at our table because the table's incomplete without them and without both perspectives."

Why Compass didn't join sooner: Haber is a Compass agent, and given the brokerage's size and influence — especially in the wake of its acquisition of Anywhere — he didn't want his firm to be the first to join the ARA.

"It was important to me that Compass come later, after we had established ourselves," he explained. Haber wanted to avoid any appearance that Compass "was somehow controlling us behind the scenes" — a notion he deems "ridiculous."

"I think we proved ourselves on our own first, and we earned it."

Where NAR succeeds: Though the ARA's creation is linked to frustration with NAR, Haber doesn't shy away from highlighting what he believes the organization does well — such as its "fantastic federal lobbying" efforts.

"Their work in Congress is incredible. They often don't get enough credit for what they do there," he said. "They obviously write a lot of checks — but don't hate the player, hate the game. That's the business in Washington."

Their work goes beyond the money, however. "They show up for meetings, they work legislation. Give credit where credit's due."

Willing to work with anyone — including NAR: Back when Haber's calls for change began, "if NAR had called me up and said, 'Hey, Jason, appreciate your advocacy. You're calling for change. Why don't you join us? We'll put you on a committee.' Honestly, I probably would have said yes, and none of this would have happened in the years since," he said.

Haber added that he is still willing to "work with anyone to elevate the industry and to fight for the agents."

"Anything that benefits agents — including working with NAR — we're up for, and we're in for. They may feel differently, but that's my position."