Title
Honoring The Greater Philadelphia Association of REALTORS(r) on the occasion of celebrating their 100th Anniversary.
Body
WHEREAS, The Greater Philadelphia Association of REALTORS(r) (GPAR) was founded on January 10, 1908, as the Philadelphia Real Estate Brokers Association. Since then, the Association has grown to become the most influential professional real estate association in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, In 1908, loosely knit neighborhood broker groups carried out the various real estate transactions in Philadelphia. What was then known as the Philadelphia Board of REALTORS(r) (PBR), GPAR succeeded in unifying these groups and brought order to Philadelphia's real estate market; and
WHEREAS, In the same year, the Board became a founding member of the National Association of REALTORS(r) (NAR), which organized REALTORS(r) on a national level; and
WHEREAS, The Association has always been an advocate of private property owners, as well as an ardent crusader against government spending and unnecessary real estate tax increases. A real estate license law, drafted by the Board and passed by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1929, became a model for similar laws adopted in other states; and
WHEREAS, Since its inception, the Association has worked diligently to improve the City of Philadelphia. In the mid to late twenties, GPAR was involved in industrial development, mass transit, dealing with problems of deteriorating neighborhoods and keeping large industries from leaving Philadelphia. The Association continued to battle excessive real estate taxation and played an active role in the New Deal programs of the Roosevelt Administration during the forties; and
WHEREAS, Since the 1960's, GPAR has maintained a strong working relationship with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in dealing with urban housing; and
WHEREAS, In 1995, PBR became the Greater Philadelphia Association of REALTORS(r) to reflect the growing scope of its membe...
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