In a major maneuver potentially solidifying its status within the real estate industry, the American Real Estate Association (ARA) has announced that Chris Lim, president and chief growth officer at REMAX, has joined its board of directors, as well as Andrew Dodge, a prominent investor and businessman.
“This is a big moment for ARA, and a bigger one for the industry,” ARA Co-Founder Jason Haber told RISMedia. “We’ve spent a lot of the last two years planning for the future and soon we will roll out more news that we believe will help shape the future of the industry. Agents want change. ARA plans to deliver just that.”
ARA will provide all REMAX agents in the U.S. with a complimentary first-year membership.
The expansion of the board marks a pivotal moment for the ARA as it scales its mission to elevate industry standards, provide essential advocacy for agents and launch public education initiatives aimed at demystifying the home-buying process.
“The stakes right now for the American public and the real estate industry are enormous,” said Haber and Mauricio Umansky, co-founders of the ARA, in a joint statement. “We launched the ARA to provide a unified voice of reason at a time of immense transition. The backbone of the American path to homeownership is the full-time real estate professional. By bringing Chris’s deep industry acumen and Andrew’s vital outside business perspective to the table, we are building a diversified board that can strategically guide our industry forward and fiercely support the nearly two million full-time agents working hard every single day.”
Lim brings decades of high-level brand building and industry innovation to the board.
“Real estate is an industry for true professionals who are relentlessly dedicated to servicing their clients,” said Lim in a release. “The ARA’s commitment to creating the best-informed and best-trained agents in the country is exactly what the market demands right now. I am thrilled to join the board to help shape an elite educational framework that elevates the ARA’s standing with the public and ensures members are viewed as the indispensable, highly skilled advisors they are.”
While the ARA remains an organization run by peers, the addition of Dodge introduces a layer of cross-industry diversification, the founders believe.
“When the founding partners invited me to join, I saw an opportunity to bring a true outsider’s perspective to a passion I’ve held my entire life,” said Dodge in a release. “Real estate is the ultimate cornerstone of this country—it is the greatest asset most Americans will ever work for. Right now, there is so much negative rhetoric around housing that has been weaponized politically. The ARA can be that trusted, apolitical voice—like a wise family member or friend—reminding people of the enduring value of ownership.”
The appointment of Lim and Dodge follows the addition of independent brokerage Douglas Elliman, with the firm’s President and CEO, Michael Liebowitz, and General Counsel, Deva Roberts, both serving on the ARA Board of Directors along with Briggs Elwell, co-founder and CEO of RLTYco. Additionally, the ARA has integrated the New York Residential Agent Continuum (NYRAC), an organization representing top New York City agents.
