Credentials & published references

Experience you can examine.

David Abernathy — Luxury Real Estate Advisor | Applied AI. He serves Palm Beach County buyers and sellers with Waterfront Properties & Club Communities, where he served as Business Manager from 2008 through August 2026. During that tenure, he helped lead the development of Waterfront’s award-winning artificial-intelligence initiatives. He was 2020 JTHS-MIAMI president, serves on the BeachesMLS Board of Directors, the MIAMI REALTORS® division board, the BeachesMLS Emerging Technology Task Force, and the MLS Rules and Regulations Task Force. His individual honors include MIAMI REALTORS® Thought Leader of the Year and JTHS-MIAMI AI Innovator of the Year.

Black-and-white portrait of David Abernathy seated at a desk, with awards, books and a waterfront setting behind him

Professional timeline

Licensed in Florida since 2004, David began consulting for Waterfront Properties & Club Communities in 2007 and served as its Business Manager from 2008 through August 2026. He now focuses on real estate sales, bringing his experience in brokerage management, market analytics, and applied AI to his work with buyers and sellers.

Recognition

Selected honors.

2018 / 2019: Thought Leader of the Year2018 individual award from the MIAMI Association of REALTORS®, presented February 1, 2019.Official award record ↗︎
2023 / 2024: AI Innovator of the Year2023 individual award from JTHS-MIAMI, presented February 2, 2024.Official award record ↗︎ · Instructor profile ↗︎
2024: Innovation Award — Waterfront Properties & Club CommunitiesCompany award presented at the Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference, October 6–9, 2024; David also led an “AI in Practice” discussion.Conference coverage and award recipient ↗︎

Leadership

Industry service.

2026: MIAMI REALTORS® Corporate Board of Directors — before the mergerServed on the 2026 Corporate Board before it became the MIAMI division board.Official 2026 Corporate Board announcement ↗︎
2026: MIAMI REALTORS® division board — after the mergerContinued as a director on the MIAMI division board following the merger.Post-merger division-board roster ↗︎
2026–2027: BeachesMLS Board of DirectorsAppointed to the board in mid-2026 following the merger and continuing on the 2027 board; also serves on the Emerging Technology Task Force and the combined organization’s MLS Rules and Regulations Task Force.
2020: President, JTHS-MIAMIOfficial leadership profile ↗︎ · PRWeb syndicated announcement ↗︎ · Centennial leadership announcement ↗︎
2018–2021, 2024–2026: MIAMI REALTORS® Corporate Board serviceDocumented service in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026.2018 board record ↗︎ · 2019 board record ↗︎ · 2021 board record ↗︎ · 2024 announcement ↗︎ · 2025 announcement ↗︎ · 2026 board record ↗︎

Upcoming speaking engagement

Next on the calendar.

Nov 17, 2026 · Strategic AI Panel: Turning Possibilities into Results

10:00–11:30 AM · ELS Center of Excellence, Jupiter, Florida. David is scheduled to join panelists Ines Hegedus-Garcia and Billy Howell for a discussion of practical AI applications in real estate, moderated by 2026 JTHS President Jaime Kriske.

Event registration ↗︎

Speaking & education

Practical ideas, shared.

AI: Instructor and speaker on practical AI for real-estate professionalsMIAMI REALTORS® AI Training for MLS Data ↗︎
Luxury: Industry discussions on AI in luxury real estatePalm Springs conference coverage ↗︎ · Charleston conference coverage ↗︎
Video: Industry peers discuss AI in luxury real estateWatch on Instagram ↗︎
Markets: Selected Palm Beach market commentarySecond-quarter market commentary ↗︎ · July market commentary — official release ↗︎ · PRWeb syndication ↗︎

Published references

Read the record.

MIAMI REALTORS®Division Board directorOfficial leadership roster identifying David Abernathy as a director with Waterfront Properties & Club Communities.Read source ↗︎MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld2026 division boardsPost-merger division-board roster listing David Abernathy as a director.Read source ↗︎State of Florida DBPRActive real-estate licenseOfficial state record for Florida real-estate license SL3097461, originally issued in 2004.Read source ↗︎MIAMI REALTORS®November 17, 2026 · Strategic AI PanelOfficial event listing naming David as a panelist discussing practical applications of AI in real estate.Read source ↗︎MIAMI REALTORS®AI course instructor profileCourse listing identifying David as instructor and 2023 JTHS-MIAMI AI Innovator of the Year.Read source ↗︎Luxury conference coverageAI in PracticeCoverage of David leading a discussion on practical AI at the 2024 Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference.Read source ↗︎Luxury retreat coverageThe future of luxuryA recap of discussions led by David Abernathy and Morgan Carey on AI’s role in real estate.Read source ↗︎Technology collaborationAward-winning digital platformCoverage of Waterfront Properties’ technology work and David’s collaboration with Rob Thomson and Morgan Carey.Read source ↗︎InFlorida · January 5, 2018Luxury real estate website developmentCoverage documenting David Abernathy’s role in developing Waterfront Properties’ digital-marketing platform and the company’s international website-innovation recognition.Read source ↗︎Admirals CoveNext-generation luxury follow-upA published account of Waterfront Properties’ work connecting AI, global MLS data and client follow-up.Read source ↗︎Market commentaryPalm Beach County housingMIAMI REALTORS® market coverage quoting David on demand, supply and local housing conditions.Read source ↗︎RISMediaShaping the Future of REW CRMCoverage of a practical product idea from Rob Thomson and David that led to a new agent-performance reporting feature.Read source ↗︎Who’s Who in Luxury Real EstateProfessional of the WeekLuxuryRealEstate.com’s member spotlight recognizing David and Waterfront Properties & Club Communities.Read source ↗︎Mansion Global · January 24, 2020High-end homes flying off the shelvesPublished South Florida luxury-market reporting featuring David’s market perspective.Read source ↗︎Mansion Global · November 13, 2020High-end single-family demandPublished reporting on South Florida’s luxury single-family market.Read source ↗︎World Property Journal · September 2020Palm Beach home sales jumpPublished Palm Beach County market coverage during David’s JTHS-MIAMI presidency.Read source ↗︎World Property Journal · November 18, 2020Palm Beach luxury sales spike in Q3Independent market coverage directly quoting JTHS-MIAMI President David Abernathy on the forces driving Palm Beach County housing demand.Read source ↗︎World Property Journal · November 2020Palm Beach sales and prices risePublished reporting on October 2020 Palm Beach County sales and pricing.Read source ↗︎

Identity & professional profiles

Verified professional profiles.

Brokerage: Waterfront Properties & Club CommunitiesWaterfront agent profile ↗︎ · LuxuryRealEstate.com ↗︎
Real estate: Consumer real-estate profilesRealtor.com ↗︎ · Homes.com ↗︎ · Zillow ↗︎
Business: Local business identityGoogle Business Profile ↗︎
Professional: Professional and social profilesLinkedIn ↗︎ · YouTube ↗︎ · Instagram ↗︎ · Facebook ↗︎

About this record: linked publications are provided where a durable source is available. Some honors and board-service dates are professional-profile records and may not have a permanent public announcement online.

For publications and event organizers

David Abernathy: speaker biography

His individual honors include the 2018 MIAMI REALTORS® Thought Leader of the Year award, presented in 2019, and the 2023 JTHS-MIAMI AI Innovator of the Year award, presented in 2024. He served as 2020 JTHS-MIAMI President, teaches AI applications for MLS data, and led an AI in Practice discussion at the 2024 Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference.

His 2026 MIAMI Corporate Board service preceded the merger; he continued on the MIAMI division board afterward. Appointed to the BeachesMLS Board of Directors in mid-2026 following the merger, he is currently serving and continuing on the 2027 board. He also serves on the BeachesMLS Emerging Technology Task Force and the combined organization’s MLS Rules and Regulations Task Force.

A professional recommendation

Reviews & recommendations

“David’s in-depth market intelligence of the Palm Beach - Boca Raton - Jupiter luxury market is phenomenal.”Scholastica Cororaton · Google review

Read the full review on Google ↗︎

Put the experience to work

Property strategy or applied AI.

Request a Property Analysis ↗︎ Discuss AI Services or Training ↗︎