Bay East 100th Anniversary

How is Bay East 100 years old?

In 1947, the Southern Alameda County Real Estate Board, now known as the Bay East Association of REALTORS®, received its charter from the National Association of REALTORS®.  Where did the extra years come from to get to 100?  When the Alameda Association of REALTORS®, which was chartered in 1922, merged with Bay East in 2016, its original charter date came along.  The merged associations use the older of the charter dates.  And that’s how Bay East is celebrating its 100th anniversary during 2022.

Leadership

Serving in leadership positions at the state and national levels of organized real estate has been part of the Bay East DNA for decades. It started in 1971 when Barnard Adams became the first of six Bay East members to serve as President of the California Association of REALTORS®.  In 1993 Mary Jane Deering became the first of six Bay East members to serve as the President of the California Women’s Council of REALTORS®.  In 2001, Maxine Jennings became the first of two Bay East members to serve as President of the National Women’s Council of REALTORS®.  In 2012, Dexter Lat became the President of the Chinese American Real Estate Association.  In 2017, William Brown became the first Bay East member to serve as President of the National Association of REALTORS®.  In 2020, Jim Huang became the National AREAA President. In 2022, Otto Catrina became the President of the California Association of REALTORS®.  Jennifer Branchini will be the 2023 California Association of REALTORS® President.

Innovation

For a century, innovative Bay East services and products have made homeownership possible for thousands of homebuyers and have made real estate transactions easier and more efficient.

It started in 1922, when real estate professionals in the City of Alameda formed the Alameda Association of REALTORS®.  25 years later, the Southern Alameda County Real Estate Board was formed. The founding members of both associations recognized that as a group, they would be better informed about the real estate market and better able to help their clients find homes, land, or businesses.

In 1957, the ease and safety of showing properties increased as lockboxes were made available to members. In the early 1960s, monthly listing books and by-weekly supplements were published.  By the early 1990s, a computerized MLS system had replaced printed books and in 1998 an internet-based MLS was introduced.

In response to high-tech tools and business practices becoming commonplace, in 2004 Bay East established its technical support department.

Communicating with Bay East members became more effective and efficient when the first version of the Bay East website was launched in 2002 and again in 2007 when Bay East published its first email newsletter, the Government Affairs Weekly Report.  Bay East was an early adopter of video to connect with its members and started the weekly Bay East BUZZ series in 2012.

Professionalism

Creating, maintaining, and improving professionalism among Bay East members is at the core of Bay East’s culture.  During 2005, Bay East established the Ethics Advocates Pilot Program to explore how to best share resources related to professionalism with Bay East members.  In 2005, the Bay East Speakers Bureau was launched as teams of Bay East members presented topics at brokerages and other venues.  In 2006, Bay East began offering mediation services for members involved in a transaction-related dispute to work with a neutral mediation panel to reach a voluntary, negotiated agreement. In 2011, Bay East launched a unique Ombudsman service to help members understand if an ethics violation had occurred and recommend possible resolution options.

Service

Bay East has had several homes during its long history including offices in Alameda, Hayward, and Pleasanton.  Regardless of the address, Bay East has helped its members succeed as transactions and working with clients evolved.  In 1974, a nightly delivery and pick-up service was provided to all member offices.  In 1975, a daily listing activity update service was provided that delivered the updates nightly to member offices.

Partnering and merging with allied organizations have helped Bay East better serve its members. In 1994, Bay East partnered with 11 other Bay Area REALTOR® associations to enable members keys to work in a wider geographic area. In 2006, Bay East entered into a property information data sharing agreement with MLSListings, BAREIS, MetroList, and the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®. Recognizing an opportunity to help members working in commercial real estate, in 2016 the Northern California Commercial Association of REALTORS® merges with Bay East.  In 2017 the Alameda Association of REALTORS® merged with Bay East and a member service center was opened in Alameda to support Bay East members in Northern Alameda County and beyond. And in 2021, Bay East helped establish the NORCAL MLS Alliance, a groundbreaking MLS data integration project with seven leading MLSs in Northern California that enabled MLS users to access data from multiple MLSs within their home MLS system.

In 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic ushered in a new era of providing member services, classes, committee meetings, town halls and special events virtually. Bay East services have also benefited our local communities.  The Bay East Foundation was established in 1978 and by 1979 had launched its scholarship program.  In 1997, the Foundation established the Members Helping Members program.  Recognizing the need and opportunity to educate the public, in 1993, Bay East hosted the first of several homebuyer fairs at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.