NORTH CAROLINA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION
1957-1987

As the licensing and regulation of the real estate profession in North Carolina completes its 30th year, it is perhaps an appropriate time to pause and reflect on the dramatic changes which have transpired in the real estate marketplace during this period and transformed the industry into a most challenging and complex field of business endeavor.

During this period, the concepts of condominium and time sharing emerged. Fair housing laws were passed" and implemented. An almost endless variety of "creative financing" tools and techniques arose. And the consumer protection movement changed significantly the business relationship between real estate agents and consumers. Simplistic sales contracts and leases expanded to address the multitude of legal and practical concerns of modern-day real estate consumers.

Agents confederated into franchised companies. Many companies merged. Others were consumed by national conglomerates—insurance companies, department stores, stock brokerage houses. And the advent of women in the board rooms and "bullpens" of real estate offices added a new and dynamic dimension to the work force further heightening the competition for red estate clients, customers and properties.

During these past three decades, the governmental body responsible for regulatory oversight of North Carolina's real estate industry was also forced to adapt and adjust to this more sophisticated and complicated marketplace. The composition of the Real Estate Commission was expanded to include two "public members' with membership on the Commission requiring a commitment of nearly one week per month in order for the members to keep pace with the press of business. Its staff of administrators, attorneys, investigators, clerks and secretaries grew as new programs and areas of responsibility were assigned to or undertaken by the Commission and as existing programs and functions swelled in response to the state's rapidly expanding licensee population: 10,000 brokers and salesmen in 1970, 46,000 in 1980, and more than 70,000 today.

Yet over the past 30 years, despite the changing trends and pressures encountered by real estate agents and the Real Estate Commission as a result of this dynamic and demanding real estate marketplace, our common mission remains: To provide competent and conscientious real estate service to the public. Towards this goal, the Commission looks forward to your continued cooperation over the next 30 years, and it extends to you its best wishes for your success in even real estate endeavor.