President's Column: OAR Celebrates Centennial Anniversary

Lori Elswick, 2010 President, Lorain County Association of REALTORS®

Lori Elswick 2010 LoCAR President

A century ago, a small group of real estate visionaries from all corners of Ohio gathered to form an organization dedicated to enhancing cooperation and ethical standards among the professionals, as well as strengthen the rights of property owners.

The Ohio Association of REALTORS® (OAR) was created to fulfill that lofty and unique goal in January 1910. Through the years the organization has worked tirelessly to advance its mission and, as a result, has become the largest professional trade association in Ohio.

Ever since settlers first began coming to this continent, owning land and a home has been a part of the American Dream. OAR’s Centennial is a time to celebrate that dream and our contribution in making it a reality.

Ohio’s real estate professionals, much like their peers from across the country, understood that the industry lacked regulation and rules to ensure that consumers were protected and our communities would prosper. The REALTOR® organization was founded with the sole goal of bringing ethical behavior to the transaction – something that wasn’t always the case in the profession’s early days.

Because of that foresight, the push for state regulation and the understanding that the industry’s professionals needed to undertake rigorous educational training, Ohio’s consumers have benefited from principals that have been central to the REALTOR® organization.

Ohio’s REALTORS® have also been the leading advocates for equal housing opportunities, private property rights and promoting home ownership. It was Ohio’s REALTORS® that amplified their collective voice and, as such, played a key role in preserving mortgage interest deductibility when it was under assault two decades ago. It was Ohio’s REALTORS® who were instrumental in helping to create the Ohio Housing Finance Agency in the 1970s and helped to open the door to ownership to countless of our fellow citizens. It was Ohio’s REALTORS® who helped craft the state’s mandatory property disclosure law, ensuring that buyers were fully aware of a property’s condition prior to purchase. It was Ohio’s REALTORS® that understood the need for continued professional development of practitioners and worked with state leaders to establish continuing education standards. And there are countless other examples of the members of the Ohio Association of REALTORS® and its partners at the Lorain County Association of REALTORS® making a positive contribution for the benefit of our fellow Ohioans.

As we celebrate OAR’s 100th anniversary we turn our sights on improving homeownership opportunities for future generations. Ohio’s REALTORS® banded together 100 years ago to bring ethics and integrity to an emerging profession. Over time the industry has grown and will continue to do so. Things will certainly change, but rest assured REALTORS® will remain focused on bringing Ohioans home.

The National Association of REALTORS®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing more than one million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate. The Lorain County Association of REALTORS® is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associations of REALTORS® nationwide that comprise the National Association of REALTORS®.

The Lorain County Association of REALTORS® offers a website that provides a complete listing of REALTOR® real estate brokerages in Lorain County, contact information for REALTOR® members, and industry associates. If you are a first time homebuyer or a repeat buyer consider www.MyNewCommunity.net or www.LoCAR.org as a good source for Lorain County REALTOR® information.