SERHANT. agents can join the American Real Estate Association at no cost after Ryan Serhant’s brokerage became the trade group’s newest national brokerage member, ARA announced Monday.
The Real Deal reported the move earlier Monday. SERHANT. joins ARA alongside REMAX, Compass International Holdings and Douglas Elliman among the national brokerages that have aligned with the group. Co-founders Jason Haber and Mauricio Umansky describe ARA as an association “by agents, for agents.”
Founded in 2020, SERHANT. has more than 2,000 agents across 20 states and Washington, D.C., according to ARA’s press release. Its 2026 launches include California, Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts and Illinois.
ARA has more than 30,000 members in all 50 states, Haber told Inman.
How membership works
SERHANT. agents will not be enrolled automatically. Haber said the brokerage will follow the model ARA uses with REMAX and Compass International Holdings.
“Some partners, like REMAX and Compass International Holdings, give their agents complimentary membership on an opt-in basis, and that is how it will work at SERHANT.,” Haber said. “Joining ARA is free for their agents, and brokerage support helps fund ARA’s ongoing work.”
SERHANT. agents can enroll without paying the annual membership fee, Haber said, and renewal is opt-in by design.
“We want to be the trade group agents choose to join, not the one they feel they have to join,” he said.
How the deal came together
Haber said the partnership grew out of a long relationship with Serhant in the New York market.
“Ryan and I have known each other for years. We came up in the same New York market, so this started as a conversation between two people who care about where the profession is headed,” Haber said. He added that ARA kept Serhant updated on its State Chair Program, its AI Task Force and its licensee-in-the-loop legislation.
The announcement came three days after Serhant gave a fireside chat Friday at NAR NXT, the National Association of Realtors’ annual conference in New Orleans.
In the ARA press release, Serhant said ARA “is doing the hard work to raise the bar for the entire profession while fighting for homeownership across the country.”
“Aligning SERHANT. with ARA gives our agents an even stronger platform to educate consumers, advocate for clients and shape where this industry goes next,” Serhant said in the release.
AI and accountability
ARA’s licensee-in-the-loop effort would require a licensed agent to stay accountable when artificial intelligence performs licensed real estate work. Haber has said ARA plans to write model language and bring it to statehouses, since there is no federal real estate license.
In an interview with Inman on Monday, Serhant used the same term to describe how SERHANT.’s AI agent, Dot, works with clients.
“It’s with the agent always in what we call a licensee-in-the-loop,” Serhant said. “It’s much better to do it with a professional who also has a fiduciary and real accountability to your outcomes.”
Serhant also said regulation protects consumers.
“I do think that regulations are important,” he said. “They’re not there to hurt the good actors. They’re to prevent the bad actors.”
Where things stand with NAR
Asked about ARA’s relationship with NAR, Haber said the group is focused on its members.
“Earlier this year, NAR’s CEO took the Inman stage and had some pretty harsh words for ARA,” Haber said. “After that, we moved our 6:30 a.m. huddle to 5:30 a.m. If anything, it motivated us to work harder.”
“What matters are the industry fights in front of us, not infighting with another trade group,” he said. “We wish them the best and hope they are successful.”
ARA expanded its board this year with Chris Lim, the former president and chief growth officer of REMAX, and investor Andrew Dodge. They serve alongside Douglas Elliman President and CEO Michael Liebowitz, Douglas Elliman General Counsel Deva Roberts and RLTYco CEO Briggs Elwell.
In August, Missouri voters rejected Amendments 4 and 5, ballot measures ARA opposed alongside Missouri Realtors.
Haber said ARA is in talks with other firms.
“I’ll leave the announcements to the announcements,” he said. “What I will say is that the pace has picked up. When a firm like SERHANT. decides to join, other leaders notice.”
