Defining AREA
Defining AREA
We are a referral group, created to find the most competent and ethical members of our chosen profession throughout the USA, Mexico and other locations in North America and the world. The bond that holds us together is the belief our members have in following a Code of Ethics, sharing best practices and referring their trusted clients to fellow agents whom we know will treat them professionally.. We are an organization based on Trust and the promise of equity for all. Each of us has signed a "Participation Agreement", and committing to attending the annual retreats,plus as many of the monthly membership calls as possible.
AREA is a privately owned, private, non-profit, 501C6 organization registered in North Carolina the elected Board of Directors, President, vice President, are all volunteers and have no staff save for the volunteer work done by Suzanne Cooper our elected Secretary/Treasurer helping with technical and logistical functions that keep us running smoothly. (
Our sources of income come from four arenas:
- Member Dues : These are, as of 2025, $400 for the principal member and $250 for any secondary member, all annually paid on the anniversary of one's acceptance.
- Member fees for things such as the Retreat and, perhaps, other such opportunities, which are done at cost . (AREA is also responsible for arranging for the hotel and all of the venues and guaranteeing payments against the actual costs, which run over $40,000 per Retreat plus agreeing to pay for rooms, which do not meet the agreed upon minimum ($25,000+ is normally the amount of that guarantee.) We only hope to break even, which happens occasionally and now, more so, because of the sponsorships.
- Sponsorships . Currently we have four who currently, annually contribute a total of $10,000 for promotional interests.
- Sponsorships by vendors in return for ads in our monthly newsletters and signage at our annual retreats
Over the years we have been fortunate to hold what we have come to be known as the "AREA Gatherings" twice a year: D.C. and the annual NAR Convention. While these are Meet & Greets we also host an Annual Retreat
Over our 13 years, AREA has held Retreats in the following locations.
- Tucson 2007
- Denver 2008
- Denver 2009
- Seattle 2010
- Las Vegas 2011
- San Antonio 2012
- New Orleans 2013
- Napa 2014
- Stowe 2015
- Santa Fe 2016
- Santa Barbara 2017
- Newport 2018
- Boise 2019
14. No retreat because of COVID 2020 2021
15. Cleveland, 2022
16. Nashville, 2023
17. St. George, Utah 2024
18. Greenville, SC, 2025
The optimum timing of the event was recently determined to be early to mid-July, as those dates, up until now, seem to have been the most compatible with the competing schedules of other industry events both state and national. That however is subject to potential weather issues depending on location. Please feel free to express your opinion about these dates.
In 2014 we created the Advisory Board to provide our members with a forum to assist AREA in remaining, not only viable, but also forward thinking. While, at the same time, also, helping to facilitate member engagement. This is not a policy board, but, as the name implies, "Advisory". Ken Libby, Diana Bull, Leslie Rouda Smith, Hagan Stone have served all of us well over the past several years. In the end, AREA, as a private company, remains solely responsible for establishing and implementing policy that it believes is in the best interest of the organization. With the transition in 2024 to the private non-profit the Board of Directors is elected. The initial BOD was Ken Libby, President, Deborah Baisden, Vice President, Ron Phipps, Vince Malta, Nate Johnson, Hagan Stone & Cindi Bulla.
As we move forward, based upon the comments made at our 2019 Retreat, we realize that we must understand the dynamics of the marketplace and act accordingly.
As Hans Hansson and Trinkie Watson, along with a bevy of others pointed out during their remarkable commentary, Trinkie, a very proficient residential agent in Tahoe and Hans, a leading commercial broker in San Francisco, through a friendship that has developed over the years, have found that residential and commercial are not only compatible but essential if the bar of success for any of us is to be raised to meet the new realities.
Trinkie knows nothing about commercial but is constantly being approached by her clients with questions about things dealing with commercial and, thus, she and Hans have formed a mutually beneficial relationship that allows her to refer to Hans with confidence that if a deal results, no matter, when or where, she will be compensated.
It is our strong suggestion that ALL of our residential members, who currently do not have a commercial partner, seek out a competent NAR member commercial broker to be their Hans and then to nominate them to join AREA as a full member.
AREA, in order to retain the intimacy that we have achieved, will close out our membership at 200 and, thereafter, vary between 180-200.
