The National Association of Realtors has been around for more than 100 years. Three of the founding boards were in Minnesota: Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth.
The National Association of REALTORS® was founded as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges on May 12, 1908 in Chicago. 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.”
Before this professional organization coined the word, Realtor, the people who helped facilitate the buying and selling of real property were called land agents and then real estate agents. They pop up as characters in books like the ones written by Ivan Doig about settling Montana.
NAR sets and maintains standards for the industry which brings unity to the profession. Today there are more than 1.5 million members nationwide making it the largest trades union in the country.
When Zillow launched its website in 2006 many predicted the demise of the Realtor position in the transaction. Everything would occur online! Look at the home, contact a lender, order the title work, and close on the property without viewing it! Done. This narrative permeated the market for at least ten years before it started to ebb ever so slightly.
It has now been 17 years since the entry of big tech into the real estate business and Zillow is still losing money. In 2022 real estate disrupter lost $101 million. I don’t know how venture capital works, but where does all this money come from to float unprofitable companies for decades?
The long and the short of it is that Realtors are still out helping buyers and sellers come together and make a trade. The job really hasn’t changed in any substantial way since 2006, except that advertising occurs via the web instead of print media. There are a variety of arrangements available to clients from basic services to full service. Perhaps ironically, since the age of social media, there has been a shift away from for sale by owners.
It’s pretty clear that there is a place in the market for this type of work. If you’ve had a poor experience in the past maybe the solution is to take a little extra time in selecting your realtor next time around. There are as many styles and personalities in the business as there are clients. You just need to find the right match.
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