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About Us

For Black commercial real estate professionals in Washington, D.C., AAREP is essential.

African American Real Estate Professionals of District of Columbia (AAREP DC) is a trade association and professional network created by a group of skilled and experienced real estate professionals with the goal of empowering Black real estate professionals in developing successful careers in commercial real estate. For over two decades, AAREP DC has been a driving force in providing a supportive network for African Americans working in the commercial real estate industry.

We help foster growth in the careers of Black real estate professionals.

Since its founding in 1995 as a small group of dedicated professionals in Washington, D.C., AAREP DC is an experienced national professional association founded on a unique set of principles—to maximize returns for black real estate professionals. What started as a small network of individuals looking to diversify the industry, this network has grown into an association with an extended reach of over 2,000 individuals focused on education, access, networking opportunities, and advocacy for its members.

AAREP DC’s mission statement, “Facilitating economic empowerment and parity through real estate,” sets the tone for the organization’s programs and activities and challenges each member to do their part to ensure the continued success of the organization and ecosystem of black real estate professionals in DC. We seek to diversify, create new opportunities and increase ownership among our members. AAREP DC embraces representation from every major discipline in the industry - from site selection and acquisition to commercial leasing and property management.

With a broader scope as a talent pool for diversity in the commercial real estate industry, AAREP DC has gained recognition throughout the DC real estate community as a highly successful professional association, known for both the depth of its membership and the success of the programs and activities undertaken by the group. Programs and activities include industry panels featuring prominent speakers addressing current industry topics, case studies and property tours, an entrepreneurship center to support the growing needs of African American entrepreneurs in the business, and a star-studded annual gala.

Why AAREP DC?

For years, commercial real estate opportunities have been inaccessible to the Black community. AAREP DC was founded on changing this and continues to focus on providing access, education, networking and community engagement opportunities that seek to diversify the commercial real estate industry and opportunities for our members. Real Estate Developers, Contractors, Architects, Asset Managers, Brokers, Finance, Lawyers, Property Managers and Entrepreneurs, are the focus of AAREP DC. We are committed to helping all real estate professionals network and find the resources they need for their present and future professional and business-to-business ventures.

AAREP DC’s Networking and Programming is centered on:

  • Access to Opportunities
  • Educational Experiences and Programming
  • Community Engagement in our Built Environment
  • Advocate for Black leaders in commercial real estate to leverage equity and parity in real estate in DC and nationally

Real estate networking is the pillar of what we offer. The opportunity to operate in the commercial real estate landscape ought to be available to everyone

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Based on a company's size and involvement in our organization, different sponsorship levels are available.
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