Above, Jason Haber
In an exclusive interview with RISMedia on Tuesday, Jan. 23, Jason Haber, an associate real estate broker currently with Compass in New York, delved into the details of why he and business partner Mauricio Umansky decided to launch an alternative trade group to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), called the American Real Estate Association (A.R.E.A.).
In a wide-ranging conversation following Umansky’s interview with RISMedia, Haber discussed the need for an alternative to NAR, citing dissatisfaction among agents with the value they receive for their dues.
He talked about the challenges of starting a new organization, including the need for significant funding and the development of new programs and services. He emphasized that they are not trying to compete directly with NAR, but rather offer a different option for agents, also touching on the potential for coexistence with NAR and the current upheaval in the real estate industry. He outlined the next steps for the new organization, including fundraising, board development and program rollout.
An adjunct professor at John Jay College in Manhattan and a frequent commentator on cable news networks, Haber is the author of The Business of Good: Social Entrepreneurship and the New Bottom Line, which was ranked No. 1 on Amazon for new books on sustainable development. He is also a founder and board member of the Haber Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City.
Michael Catarevas: Can you provide some insight into how you and Mauricio decided to put this new organization together?
Jason Haber: We were both thinking about it separately, and we certainly weren’t the only people in the country thinking about it. Mauricio at an event in Los Angeles had mentioned something about maybe it’s time to think about an alternative trade association. And people had honestly been asking me for months since I started the NAR Accountability Project. I never envisioned it going this way. And it kind of came together over time and eventually we started just talking informally and things just sort of grew from there. We realized that we were a really good fit for the same vision and a shared idea of what to do, and we just decided to join forces and do it together.
MC: When was that?
JH: Last fall.
MC: Did you know Mauricio well before that?
JH: We had met before at an event once, but we knew each other through a lot of other people. We had a lot of people in common, so that also helped.
MC: You interact with a lot of people in the industry. What kind of feedback are you getting from them?
JH: It’s been amazing. People have been looking for something like this, but the problem is you can’t replace something with nothing. You have to actually have something. And so we said, okay, here’s another option for you. It may not be right for you, but here’s something else. It’s interesting to see the reaction from agents around the country. It’s been really amazing and inspiring. We’ll see where it goes. Any venture is full of risk. The word entrepreneur, it’s French. It means adventurer. And that’s what I see. I see this as an adventure.
MC: You know who NAR is and how big they are, and their revenues, etc. Are you trying to compete with them on their level? What’s your plan?
JH: No. They’ve been around 108 years, and so you’re never going to flip a switch and ever think that you’re going to all of a sudden replicate what they’ve built. It’s not going to happen. That’s not how we’re looking at this. We’re not trying to right out of the gate compete with NAR. That would be silly. You have to acknowledge their sheer size and veracity and understand that you are not that. And you have to go into that very clear-eyed. The question is, is there a market for this? Is there an actual market? Is there a hunger within the community for this? And if there is, folks will gravitate and give us a shot. And if there isn’t, they won’t. And we’ll go away quietly. We’ll go back to doing our thing, which is okay, too. So that’s what we’re going to find out.
MC: What about the finances, starting something like this from the ground up? You have to hire people and do all sorts of research. Do you have an idea of how you’re going to go about that?
JH: We have a fundraising plan. We’re having those conversations already and folks are very receptive. So I have a hunch that won’t be an issue.
MC: Clearly many REALTORS® these days are dissatisfied with NAR, but NAR does have a lot of programs and resources that are useful. What are you hoping to accomplish with your association when you get it off the ground?
JH: No, no, absolutely. We’re not saying anything bad about NAR. This is really just about an alternative for agents. And what I hear from agents most is one word that they repeat all the time: Value. What agents want is to feel value for their dues. And I think there’s a sense that the value proposition is off kilter and they’re looking for someone to restore that. We have the opportunity to say, okay, look, we’re starting. We’re very small, but we’re hungry. We’re focused. Here’s what we’re going to do. And if people feel a sense of culture and community that may be different from what they’ve had before, that’s a really good place to start.
We’re going to have a really cool education platform. It’s in development. When you build culture and community and have services that agents will like, the hope is that they’ll find value and want to stay with you for the long term. And if they don’t, they don’t. And if they want to stay with what NAR offers, great. We’re not against that in any way at all.
MC: Could you coexist?
JH: Yes. There’s no rule that says you need to have only one trade association. We’re not antagonistic. We’re not trying to have the winner take all. We’re just focused on what we’re doing. And they’re focused on what they’re doing. And I don’t think it has to be some sort of battle between the two. We don’t see that at all.
MC: Do you see NAR as being vulnerable right now?
JH: That’s a really good question. I think it’s fair to say they have challenges on a number of fronts, and the onus is on them to get through a host of issues and to prove their value prop to members. And if they can do that, they’ll succeed. If they can’t, I think it’ll be tough.
MC: What about the trials? Where do you see those going?
JH: I don’t know. These cases are upending the whole industry. We’re in a really interesting time right now where there’s all this upheaval in the industry. And when there is upheaval, there’s also opportunity to try things differently and come up with new approaches for the future. And so we’re sort of angling for this idea that things are going to change and maybe it’s time for other voices in the industry. So I think within the upheaval, that opportunity also exists for people who can understand the market and see how the future may unfold.
MC: You and Mauricio are not just agents trying to sell a house here and there. What kind of time can you invest in something like this?
JH: I’m prepared to invest a significant amount of my time into this. I can’t speak for Mauricio, but I know he’s excited about it. I have a great infrastructure to help support all of my business and make sure that all of the demands are met with my own clients who are always a priority. I think every once in a while in life you get an interesting opportunity to shoot your shot. The question you have to ask yourself is, if I don’t shoot my shot, and you look back in five years when all the upheaval has been resolved and you see whatever real estate looks like on the other side of that, do you look back with regret and say, you know, I wish I had done this. I wish I had done that. It’s like folks who wish they could go back in time 10 years and buy Bitcoin for like $30. There’s always that tinge of regret. I would rather take the risk and know that I did it and not have to look back with regret that I saw something happen, I saw an opportunity, and I just let it pass by because of fear or inhibition or because I was worried about my daily workload. I just think this is one of those moments.
MC: So what are your next steps? What’s going to come in the next weeks and the next month?
JH: We’re working on the board of directors. We have initial announcements that will come out in the coming weeks related to the MLS and some other things. And start to obviously raise money and put the initial team together and go incrementally from there. If anyone measures us against NAR, we’re going to be laughed at, and that’s fine. But we’re not trying to measure ourselves against them. We’re trying to be something new and different and just stay focused on trying to build this up as best we can.
MC: Anything else you’d like agents to know?
JH: I hope they will consider us if they’re interested in something else. I hope that they’ll give us a chance and give us a look. And if they’re not interested, that’s okay too. I think what’s really cool is that there’s a lot of shaping to be done. And it’s a lot different when you’re in this new embryonic period as opposed to when you’re over 100 years old. That’s not a criticism, by the way. But I think for agents who may have ideas, we’re open, the store is open for ideas and to sort of crowdsource different thoughts and ways and directions we can take.
Stay tuned to RISMedia for ongoing developments.
