A venerable Baltimore organization celebrates its 160th birthday this year. In 1858, three years before the beginning of the Civil War, the first real estate association in the United States was founded in Baltimore City.As a major city with an active real estate market, the Baltimore Board of Real Estate Brokers and Property Agents was formed. The population of Baltimore City was about 212,000.

Of the eleven founding members of the new organization, William Warfield served as president and Samuel Snowden served as the secretary-treasurer.The members met to exchange their listings, which were small, handwritten cards.

The original mission of the first real estate association was to ensure the ethical practices of city brokers and to enhance the value of real estate. It was this Baltimore Board that founded the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges, in 1908, a group that is now known as the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The Baltimore Board went through several restructurings and by 1909 had 44 members. It was their original ideas that played a foundational part in the NAR’s Code of Ethics that were adopted in 1913.

In 1914, under the leadership of B. Howard Richards, the Board grew, reorganized, and established an office at 15 E. Fayette. The association changed its name in 1915 to the Real Estate Board of Baltimore and, a year later, a multiple listing service for sale propertieswas initiated.

With the coming of World War I, the Board was actively engaged in policy issuessuch as rent controls and other matters related to the sale and rental of properties during wartime. An interesting action taken by the group was petitioning the Baltimore City Council to change the name of German Streetto Redwood Street. This action was taken in memory of First LieutenantGeorge B. Redwood, the first soldier from Baltimore killed in World War I. The name of Redwood Street remains to this day.

Between the World Wars, the Real Estate Board took action on issues to help improve Baltimore City’s infrastructure and established a multiple listing bureau, which was one of the first in the nation.In 1958, the Baltimore American and The Baltimore Sun newspapers began publishing real estate sections in their Sunday editions.

The next office move of the Real Estate Board took place in 1972 when it relocated to 1501 W. Mount Royal Avenue. The Central Maryland Multiple List Service (MARIT) was also housed in this location. In 1974, the group changed its name to the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors® (GBBR). An art contest was launched with the Maryland Institute College of Art to create a logo for the Board.The winning entry is the logo still used by the GBBR today.In 1976, the Baltimore Board was the first local organization to sign the “Equal Opportunity in Housing” agreement with HUD.

By the 1980’s and 90’s, GBBR was active in several significant legislative initiatives, including taking a lead positionin reducing statewide settlement costs and strengthening lead paint laws. The Board membership reached 5000 members, making the GBBR one of the largest real estate boards in the nation. During this period, a GBBR School of Real Estate was founded as well as a local Political Action Committee. In 1997, the GBBR moved its offices to Lutherville, MD and launched a website.The most recentmove was in 2013 when the GBBR relocated to Timonium, MD.

During its 160-year history, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors has served Baltimore City and Baltimore County. It has greatly influenced the real estateprofession, enforcing the Codeof Ethics, providing continuing education, and conducting charitable events. Changes in the structureof the industry, demographics, and the use of technology have impacted many aspects of the real estate industry and, today, the Board has approximately 3000 members.

Recognizing these changes and the march of time, it is appropriate to remember that the organized real estate industry began here in Baltimore City 160 years ago.