LISTEN: Jason Haber on the State of Residential Real Estate

Jason Haber has never been afraid to ruffle a few feathers in favor of a greater residential real estate industry.

On this week’s “Deconstruct” podcast (the season debut!), hosts Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke talk to Haber, one of the founders of the American Real Estate Association and recent subject of “The Closing” for The Real Deal magazine.

Haber is a fierce advocate for real estate agents, but is also cognizant of the lagging perception of the industry in the public mind. Haber believes there are “too many darn agents” today, particularly those who aren’t true professionals and give the occupation a bad name.

That connects to when AREA came to prominence. After accusations of sexual harassment and toxic work culture were lobbed at National Association of Realtors president Kenny Parcell (who ultimately resigned), Haber was shocked by the silence surrounding the scandal, which he attributes in part to the power of the industry group.

Haber’s reform campaign at NAR ultimately resulted in the creation of AREA alongside The Agency’s Mauricio Umansky. Since launching in 2024, the association has grown its membership by the tens of thousands and stands to boost its membership significantly more with its most recent addition, Compass International Holdings, the parent company of some of the most well-known brands in the industry. 

Among the ways the association is distinguishing itself from NAR is through policy ideas, such as a Clear Collaboration policy — differentiated from NAR’s Clear Cooperation policy — that calls for the mandatory sharing of listings among real estate professionals.

A two-pronged approach to addressing real estate’s biggest issues comes to mind for Haber. That includes more from the public sector on licensing and renewal, which has veered off course in Haber’s eyes, and better self-regulation from the industry itself.

As for the larger ills dogging the New York City real estate market, Haber has a wish list of fixes: increasing supply through changes to the 485x tax abatement program, updates to the 2019 law that crushed rent-stabilized landlords and amendments to the recent FARE Act.

This episode of “Deconstruct” also brings discussion of the prolific deed theft empire built by Joseph Makhani, the botched rollout of the pied-á-terre tax in New York City (which has led to a lawsuit) and a catch-up on the summer camp scandal around Simad Holdings, which auctioned off nearly two dozen properties through the bankruptcy process.

Be sure to check out “Deconstruct” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever else you listen to podcasts. 

— Holden Walter-Warner

Read more

Inside Joseph Makhani’s deed theft machine

Homeowners sue to halt New York City pied-á-terre tax rollout

Simad’s summer camps prove a bankruptcy gold mine, fetch $368M