Boston Real Estate Board

 

Greater Boston Real Estate Board and its major divisions

The real estate industry occupies a key position in the industrial, as well as financial scene of any country or area. The pace of development in any geographical area is best reflected in the quantum of activity witnessed in its real estate sector. Any geographical area which is “happening” usually has a “hot and even more happening” real estate sector with lots of buying and selling, rentals, moving in and moving out taking place.

There are a lot of actors playing out their part in any real estate industry. These players, all of them important for the continuous growth of the industry as a whole, include home owners, managers of residential as well as commercial real estate, brokers and brokerage firms, buyers, sellers, lenders and other such financial institutions involved in the function of providing mortgage and its attendant activities such as documentation and credit score appraisal, rental property seekers, legal counselors, mediation and arbitration professionals, and a host of other real estate professionals. Thus, real estate industry is a multi-level and multi-player industry, each of them performing functions which are necessary to keep the industry running.

As already mentioned, any geographical area which is “happening”, say, a new industrial zone is about to come up, or the area may have a considerable presence of “floating population” due the a prestigious university or any other such institution in its vicinity which attracts a lot of young people from other areas, usually witnesses real estate industry moving at a rapid pace. Even otherwise, “shelter” being one of the basic necessities of life, real state professionals are always in demand, almost everywhere.

 

Introduction to Greater Boston Real Estate Board.

In a bid to coordinate, streamline and synchronize the activities of these various real estate professionals, different real estate associations and boards are active in different states. In this article, we focus on Greater Boston Real State Board (GBREB).

Founded in 1889, GBREB performs the role of a leading advocate for the real estate industry with professionalism and success. The Board describes its mission as: to act as an effective advocate for real estate profession and professionals, covering all its aspects and involving all its players. The Board mission is to continuously strive to educate and serve its members, to make them better informed and encourage them to follow the high standards of professionalism. The Board also strives to serve the general public, especially in areas where the members of the Board function.

Today, GBREB has more than 8000 members who are engaged in all sectors of this industry. GBREB is one of the local boards of the National Association of REALTORS, which happens to be the largest trade association of North America. GBREB is also an affiliate of Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, as well as that of National Apartment Association. The varied membership base of GBREB bestows it with a distinct uniqueness at the national level.

 

GBREB has five major divisions:

• Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA): Whenever the owners and managers of commercial real estate, other members of the industry as well as companies supporting them, are in search of best professional knowledge which they can utilize to

increase their earning potential, as well as elaborate networking opportunities in the market, BOMA, Boston provides them the answers they seek. These networking opportunities also mean a whole lot of fun and excitement for the BOMA members, as recently witnessed during the BOMA Striped Bass and Bluefish Tournament which took place in June, 2006. In between all this fun, BOMA provides its members a networking forum where industry professionals discuss mutual problems, work out possible solutions, share experiences and exchange new ideas.

• Commercial Brokers Association (CBA): CBA, which has over 300 members of the commercial brokerage community throughout Massachusetts, is committed to provide latest educational insights to its members. To achieve this goal, relevant educational programs are regularly organized. Association endeavors to promote professionalism and cooperation among its members so that an enabling atmosphere is created where knowledge and ideas are freely exchanged. And CBA achieves all these objectives while providing its members to meet and have a good time. To illustrate, CBA organized its 6th Annual Charity Golf Outing at the Red Tail Golf Club in Deven, MA on Wednesday, August 2, 2006. CBA Bike Tour was also on the cards but has been postponed due to the forecast of extreme temperatures.

• Real Estate Finance Association (REFA): REFA has been formed, and is in fact an industry leader, in bringing together the best professional and information resources in the real estate finance. REFA achieves this objective by organizing engaging and informative programs for the real estate finance professionals throughout the Greater Boston Area. REFA members also get ample networking opportunities which work to the benefit of all the members.

REFA has recently started an initiative which deserves a special mention. There is a REFA Emerging Leaders Group which was formed in 2005. Its aim is to educate, groom and mentor the next generation of industry leaders. Any individual, under the age of 35, who takes up the Emerging Leaders Group membership, gets full REFA membership benefits at a reduced rate of $150.

• Rental Housing Association (RHA): RHA, which was founded in 1953, today consists of over 525 members, which are either owners or managers of some 100,000 units across the state. These members are those who own, manage as well as develop or supply services to multi-family properties in Massachusetts. RHA is an affiliate of National Apartment Association and is an industry leading trade association. It is not only an effective advocate for its members but also a provider of educational and networking opportunities for them.

• Greater Boston Association of REALTORS: GBAR, local board of the National Association of REALTORS, has over 5000 real estate professionals in 800 real estate firms spread throughout the Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, as its members.

Thus, it is amply clear that the Greater Boston Real Estate Board provides a valuable platform to all the real estate professionals from across Massachusetts to share knowledge, ideas and experience and also provides innumerable valuable tools to its members to help in increasing their proficiency and professionalism.