Have you ever wondered why some real estate agents use the name REALTOR®?

The question “why do they call them Realtors?” used to drive us batty, that is until we turned to the National Board of Realtors®.

Where REALTORS comes from

Come to find out, the name Realtor is much akin to words lawyer or doctor. Or plumber. roofer. Basically, anyone who participates in a industry association, and is in good standing with that association, gets that rrrrrr sound on the end of their profession. So why not real estate agenter, or realer, or real estater… Well, meet Chuck.

Charles Chadbourn saw a glaring need in the real estate industry: people who practiced real estate didn’t have any name better than ‘real estate man’. So when Charles Chadbourn went before the Real Estate Boards of the time and purposed that everyone who participated in the newly formed National Association of Real Estate Boards took on a trade name. And as of March 27, 1916, all participants in the National Association of Real Estate Boards became known as REALTORS. Pretty neat, huh? Well, we think so too! All thanks to “Chuck” seeing a problem and letting his community know a potential solution You can read all about it in the article found on the NAR’s website.

A REALTOR is Ethical and is Held to the Code of Ethics

No, they are not more like guidelines

Our website proudly displays the REALTOR logo because we believe in what the REALTOR Code of Ethics stands for. In that document, which is over 100 years old and has undergone edits through out the years to be more inline with the most ethical practices of the day, you will find all the ethical rules that a REALTOR must follow in order to be worthy of the name. When you’d rather download a pdf version of the REALTOR Code of Ethics, here is a convenient pdf link here. But just listen to the tone of this document:

Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions and of our civilization. REALTORS® should recognize that the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership. They require the creation of adequate housing, the building of functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthful environment.

And that’s just the opening paragraph! Such a cool document. Literally words we live by and never get bored of talking about it.

Speaking of Bored, About Being Part of The Boards

As we are SLC.AGENCY, we believe that by participating in the SALT LAKE BOARD of REALTORS we fulfill our tacit agreement with SLC to uphold ourselves to the highest standard possible. And we do that because we want to be the best that we can for our customers and for our city.

But let’s get something clear, just because we are SLC.AGENCY does that mean SLC is the only place where we are limited to? NOPE. In conjunction with the National Association of REALTORS®, the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS®, we also participate in the Utah Association of Realtors. AWWww yeayeah! We keep it real because we understand our territory is statewide, and it all starts with having a local mind and a vision guided by our national context

We hope that this article helped you understand more about us and why we are called REALTORS®. And if you did learn something today, be sure to share it with someone. Because letting others know why we are called REALTORS® shows that you are informed and working with professionals who pay their dues and pay their respect to The REALTOR® Code of Ethics.

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