Key facts
- ARA said the task force will produce white papers, AI policy analysis and advocacy, starting with licensee-in-the-loop rules.
- Haber said the group will meet for the first time in the coming weeks.
- Haber said ARA is working with state association chairs and a federal lobbyist to reach elected officials.
- Haber said legislation could be introduced in some states as early as the end of the year or early January.
- Haber said there are no federal real estate licensing laws, so the effort is state by state.
The American Real Estate Association has launched an AI Task Force to advocate for and advance "licensee-in-the-loop" legislation in all 50 states, the trade group said in a report published November 12.
Jason Haber, a co-founder of ARA along with The Agency's Mauricio Umansky, told HousingWire the legislative effort was inspired by a contributor article by Dmitriy Kruglyak, a self-described software engineer turned real estate broker. In the piece, Kruglyak argued that growing use of agentic AI in real estate could put consumers at risk by letting unlicensed automated systems handle tasks traditionally done by licensed agents, including negotiating contracts and guiding transactions.
"I think this could be the defining issue for our industry in 2027," Haber said. He said Kruglyak is now chairing the task force, which will meet for the first time in the coming weeks and will work on white papers, AI policy analysis and advocacy, with licensee-in-the-loop as its first focus.
Haber said AI systems hold no license, no errors and omissions insurance and no real estate board to file an ethics complaint with, and that a consumer cannot know how a model was trained. ARA describes licensee-in-the-loop legislation as a guarantee that anyone who buys, sells or rents a home has a licensed, accountable professional standing behind the transaction.
Haber said ARA is going state by state because there are no federal real estate licensing laws, tapping state association chairs and a federal lobbyist to connect with elected officials. He said getting one bill through one state is hard enough, and ARA hopes to have legislation introduced in some states as early as the end of the year or early January.