NAR's History and Vision
Mission
The core purpose of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® is to help its members become more profitable and successful.
Vision
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® strives to be the collective force influencing and shaping the real estate industry. It seeks to be the leading advocate of the right to own, use, and transfer real property; the acknowledged leader in developing standards for efficient, effective, and ethical real estate business practices; and valued by highly skilled real estate professionals and viewed by them as crucial to their success.
Working on behalf of America's property owners, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® provides a facility for professional development, research and exchange of information among its members and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise system, and the right to own, use, and transfer real property.
NAR's Beginnings & Key Events
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® was founded as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges on May 12, 1908 at the YMCA Auditorium in Chicago, IL. With 120 founding members, 19 Boards, and one State Association, the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges' objective was "to unite the real estate men of America for the purpose of effectively exerting a combined influence upon matters affecting real estate interests."
Following many years of change and growth, the Association became the largest trade association in the United States in the early 1970s, with over 400,000 members. Today, the National Association of REALTORS® has over 1.2 million members, 54 State Associations (including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) and more than 1,400 local Associations.
Affiliated Institutes, Societies, & Councils
Early in its history, the Association recognized the need for specialization in the real estate industry, and had created seven specialty divisions by 1923. Over the years, many of these divisions have evolved into the following institutes, societies and councils currently affiliated with the National Association of REALTORS®:
Institute of Real Estate Management (founded 1933)
Women’s Council of REALTORS® (founded 1938)
Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS® (founded 1941)
REALTORS® Land Institute (founded 1944)
Counselors of Real Estate (founded 1953)
Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers (founded 1968)
CCIM Institute (founded 1969)
Council of Residential Specialists (founded 1976)
Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (1996)
Reprinted by permission from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® .
