Honor the Past, Celebrate the Present, Shape the Future

AS NVAR PREPARES to enter its Centennial year in 2021, we celebrate the milestones that pave the way for continued innovation and success. From 40 members and a regional population of 60,000 in 1921, to a current membership topping 12,000, NVAR is here to support and champion the business- and client-focused needs of Realtors® serving the 2 million people who call Northern Virginia home.

1921

The Alexandria Real Estate Board is founded.
Back in 1921, John G. Graham, a founding member and the first president of the Alexandria Real Estate Board, realized that new forms of transportation such as the electric trolley and the automobile would transform the way Northern Virginians lived and worked. It was this insight that led to the founding of the Alexandria Real Estate Board (AREB) in July 1921. During its first year, the Alexandria Real Estate Board was reorganized to become the Alexandria-Arlington-Fairfax Real Estate Board (AAFREB). Over the 100 years that followed, the organization evolved into the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®. 

1952

MLS Is Born.
The first major milestone occurred in 1952 when the Alexandria-Arlington- Fairfax Real Estate Board simultaneously moved its headquarters to 955 North Monroe Street, Arlington, Va, and voted to establish a Multiple Listing System (MLS). The MLS began business with 50 charter members on October 1, 1953. 

An MLS card in the 1950s.

1955

The First Million Dollar Salesman’s Club Is Formed.

1956

Public Facing Consumer Campaign Educates the Public.
The AAFREB public policy plan became the basis for the organization’s future public relations. This approach resulted in the “Make America Better Committee,” which engaged in a variety of civic improvement projects. Later, a speakers bureau was formed to help educate the public about the role Realtors® play in society and to enhance the image of Realtors® as experts on real estate topics.

1959 

Name Change Reflects Expansion of Region.
Northern Virginia was expanding at an unprecedented rate in the late 1950s and this expansion triggered another name change for the organization. In 1959, the

Alexandria-Arlington-Fairfax Real Estate Board became the Northern Virginia Real Estate Board (NVREB) to reflect a westward expansion in the organization’s service area. In this year, the NVREB also jointly initiated a magazine called “Realtors®” with the Washington D.C. Board of Realtors®.

1962

In-house Library Is Created.
The year 1962 brought yet another name change and another move as NVREB changed its name to the Northern Virginia Board of Realtors (NVBR) and relocated its headquarters to 44 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church, with an in-house library offering 150 books.

1965 

Association Takes on TV Advertising.
The drive to take advantage of new technologies is a continuing thread of the NVAR story. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that NVBR sought a role in the leading information technology of the 1960s — television. In 1965, NVBR and the Multiple

Listing Service of Northern Virginia embarked on a television, radio and print ad campaign. The theme was “Don’t sit on your house — Sell it!”

1968

Another Move and MLS Printing.
In 1968, NVBR bought a new headquarters building at 8408 Arlington Blvd, Fairfax County. The new 16,995 square foot building had a printing plant in the basement which was used to print MLS information (the MLS used an electronic data card processing system and the in- house printing plant had a special humidification system to meet paper storage and printing requirements).

1973

Advocacy and Grassroots.
NVAR recognized the power of the collective Realtor® voice in advocacy and grassroots. A public affairs program was developed to guide in development of policy positions, allowing NVAR to work with local elected officials and the General Assembly to protect licensees and private property rights.

1983

Pre-Internet Days of the NVBR Library.
In 1983, NVBR moved again. The new headquarters was located at 8411 Arlington Blvd. in Fairfax. The building featured the three-room Barbara Fewell Memorial Library, named in honor of the Board’s dedicated executive officer and secretary. By 1990, the library had 4,000 titles and was one of the most complete real estate libraries on the East Coast. Compact cassette tapes were popular because agents could listen and learn as they drove to their appointments. In the days before the internet, the library served as a one- stop shopping source for real estate information.

1987

NVBR on Channel 5.
The pace of new technology quickened. In April 1987, NVBR’s Real Estate Digest TV Show premiered on Washington DC Channel 5. The precursor of HGTV, it offered information in a fast-paced, news magazine format.

1989 

NVAR As We Know It.
In 1989, NVBR became the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®. 1989 also marked the founding of Update Magazine, predecessor of RE+View.

1990

NVAR’s First-ever Convention!
In April 1990, Update announced “Excellence by Design,” NVAR’s first convention and trade show which was to be held October 16-17, 1990 at the Radisson Mark Hotel in Alexandria, Va.

1992

Single Agency MLS Established.
March 1992 marked the incorporation of the MLS into a single agency to help streamline operations. In the beginning, the MLS data was fragmented. Each local franchise kept the data for its own territory. If a Realtor® in west Fairfax County wanted access to their market, the Realtors® would have to join the Loudoun, Prince William, and Northern Virginia MLS to get a complete picture. The new corporation combined the work of five association Boards of Directors and six MLS Committees. Thus, Northern Virginia became the nation’s largest MLS system.

1993

NV/RPAC Is Created.
The creation of an NV/RPAC independent of VAR was announced in the June 1993 Update Magazine. Until that time, RPAC money collected by NVAR was controlled by the state and national associations. NV/ RPAC gave local Realtors® a collective political voice and put them in a stronger position to fund grassroots issue campaigns and form the first line of defense against legislation harmful to the local real estate industry. It gave NVAR the resources it needed to effectively advocate its public policy positions.

NV/RPAC has successfully influenced prominent issues in the region, such as tax reform and transportation infrastructure. NVAR was recognized as the “No. 1 Largest Business Advocacy Group” by the Washington Business Journal in 2019 and 2020.

LATE 1990s

NVAR Creates Its First Website.
NVAR developed its own website in the late 1990s – making it one of the first local associations in the country to do so.

2004

NVAR Expands Its Physical Presence.
To serve the needs of a growing membership, NVAR opened two satellite facilities, in Alexandria and Herndon. As members expanded their networks further north and westward, the Alexandria office eventually closed in 2009.

2009

New HQ.
NVAR broke ground for its new NVAR Headquarters, a LEED certified building, on Monday, May 4, 2009. NVAR’s members work every day to help citizens of Northern Virginia realize their dream of homeownership, and now NVAR had a sustainable home of its own.

In 2009, NVAR also made the transition from Supra to SentriLock lockboxes.

2013

Rebranding and Showcasing of NVAR.
In June of 2013, NVAR launched its new brand, including a logo and tagline: “NVAR Takes You Further.” Additionally, Update Magazine became RE+View Magazine.

NVAR also hosted its first annual “Realtor® Association Showcase of Unique Ideas and Innovative Concepts,” inviting association leaders from across the country and around the world who were attending the NAR midyear legislative meetings in D.C. to spend a morning in our Fairfax headquarters. The event evolved to a virtual format in 2020 and grew to roughly five times the average number of guests, with 500+ registrants over three sessions.

2017 

NVAR’s Current Website Is Launched.
NVAR redesigned its website in 2017, earning numerous accolades, including the Progress Sitefinity 2017 Website of the Year award.

2018

Transitions and Name-Changes.
NVAR experienced some noteworthy transitions in 2018, including the multiple listing service transition from MRIS to Bright MLS, and the transformation of the Multimillion Dollar Sales Club to the Top Producer’s Club.

2020

NVAR Leads the Digital Evolution! 
Adapting to a virtual environment, NVAR embraced the digital evolution with a three-week-long virtual Convention and Trade Show: REImagine – Build Your Future; online classes and events; and new communication options for members, including the launch of the NVAR Real Life Podcast. The newly renovated Realtor® Hub at the Fairfax Headquarters features a Digital Experience Center for technology exploration, and NVAR launched Remine Docs+ transaction management as a future-focused member benefit.

2021 and Beyond 

Shape the Future.
Since 1921, Northern Virginia Realtors® have championed the American Dream and helped create the houses, neighborhoods and communities we call home. Through all the changes – the trends, technologies, leaders and laws that have shaped the industry – home remains at the heart of it all, and so does the invaluable service of a Realtor®.

NVAR is focused on the future of the real estate industry and finding new ways to deliver valuable benefits to members while remaining at the forefront of innovation and change.

As NVAR enters its 100th year and launches into the next century, it’s up to NVAR members to reimagine what has always been and build the future to new heights.

The future is here, and it’s just the beginning.



Liz Milner is a freelance writer in the Washington, DC metro area.

Kate O’Toole is the NVAR digital content manager & senior editor.