Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence: The Orange County REALTORS® Legacy

By Michelle McCann and Sherri M. Butterfield

People often inquire about the origins of Orange County REALTORS®–a question that leads us through an intricate history involving several associations, mergers, and the evolution of names. Before we embark on this journey through seven and a half decades of legacy, we would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the dedicated members, past and present leaders, and all those who have been instrumental in making Orange County REALTORS® what it is today!

Our story begins in San Clemente, the southernmost city in Orange County. Located on the California Coast, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, San Clemente was founded in 1925 by former Seattle Mayor Ole Hanson. He envisioned a Mediterraneanstyle coastal resort town whose hill, mountain, and ocean views would make it a haven for Californians weary of urban living. San Clemente was incorporated as a city on February 27, 1928. Twenty years later, on November 17, 1948, the San Clemente Board of REALTORS® was chartered by the National Association of REALTORS®, and it is to this event that Orange County REALTORS® traces its beginnings.

In that same year, Warner Brothers showed the first color newsreel, which was of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl; Democrat incumbent Harry Truman defeated Republican Thomas Dewey, “Dixiecrat” Strom Thurmond, and Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace to become President of the United States; the United Nations established the World Health Organization (WHO); the Berlin Airlift began, and the Soviet Union started jamming Voice of America broadcasts.

On May 10, 1966, the National Association of REALTORS® approved a name change from San Clemente Board of REALTORS® to San Clemente–Capistrano Valley Board of REALTORS®; and five years later, on May 11, 1971, approved another name change for this group to South Orange County Board of REALTORS® .

South Orange County began to grow in the 1960s, as rolling ranchland became home to master-planned communities such as Irvine, Laguna Niguel, and Mission Viejo. To meet the steadily increasing demand for assistance with real estate transactions, four additional REALTOR® Associations were created between 1960 and 1979: the Huntington Beach–Fountain Valley Association of REALTORS® in 1960, the Saddleback Valley Board of REALTORS® in 1974, the Saddleback Valley Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing in 1974, and the Irvine Association of REALTORS® in 1979.

In 1995, the South Orange County Association of REALTORS® and the Irvine Association of REALTORS® merged with the Saddleback Valley Board of REALTORS®, and the Saddleback Valley Board of REALTORS® became the surviving corporation. At about this same time, the Saddleback Valley Board of REALTORS® changed its name to the South Orange County Association of REALTORS® .

Then, in 1997, the Huntington Beach–Fountain Valley Association of REALTORS® merged into the South Orange County Association of REALTORS®, which dropped the term “South” from its name and began doing business as the Orange County Association of REALTORS®. The National Association of REALTORS® approved this merger on November 10, 1997.

On February 6, 2015, the Orange County Association of REALTORS® filed a request to do business as Orange County REALTORS®, and that name became official when it was approved by the National Association of REALTORS® on July 27, 2018. Today, Orange County REALTORS® has 14,934 Primary REALTOR® members and 523 Affiliate members. It serves a total of 17,280 members (including MLS-only, Secondary REALTORS®, Appraisers, Assistants, and Students). In size, Orange County REALTORS® ranks first in the state and fifteenth in the nation. On November 17, 2023, Orange County REALTORS® will celebrate seventy-five years of valuable service to the growing Orange County community.