Author: mariak@trebnet.net

In looking back, TRREB Members love to give advice to new incoming professionals. When asked, Past President Ron Abraham stated: “It’s a good career choice. It’s a nice clean business. It’s, you know, challenging certainly, but yeah, be prepared to do some work, because a lot of people think all you do is drive people around in your car and they buy a house and you make $20,000. That’s not the way the real estate business is. Well, you’ve got to be prepared for work and you got to be prepared to have thick skin because sometimes people – I guess, they treat you like you’re just out there for the money and all you do is drive me around and show me houses, but they have to – I think they don’t understand like the learning that goes on in the industry, the attention to the code of ethics.” 

You are always are proud of your first real estate deal, whether you are an agent or a purchaser. Past President James Mizzoni said the first property he sold in 1950 was $11,500: “Hell of a big difference, eh? And I was elated. The first deal I made and obviously it’s one you’ll always remember.” 

At first, just a trickle of women found their calling as real estate agents. Gertrude Tate, who joined the Board in 1928 and spent 40 years in the business, was one of the pioneers. Miss Tate was a good friend of Emmeline Pankhurst, a leader of Canada’s suffragette movement, who supported her desire to step into a profession that had previously been the preserve of men. In 1955, Miss Tate wrote: “Freed from the shackles of Victorian era, women can go forth in this basic and fascinating activity on equal terms with their opposite numbers.” In 1956, Miss Tate was made an Honourary Life Member. Today, women make up 40 per cent of TRREB’s membership. 

A new REALTOR® crest, introduced in the 1960s, became a symbol of trust the Greater Toronto Area rapidly grew. Over the years, TRREB promoted the crest as the mark of a competent and professionally trained real estate expert who can be relied upon to provide excellent service. The term REALTOR® has been used by Canadian real estate Boards since at least 1921, to identify members of organized real estate who adhere to a Code of Ethics.

The collective voice of many, speaking as one, will always make an impression. And so did the 1968 TRREB advertising campaign that promoted the ongoing development and specialization of the real estate agent who is a TRREB Member. Over the years, TRREB promotions have evolved, but the key message remains that a professional agent will offer great advice and insight about one of the most important investment in a family’s life – buying a home.