Mission Statement
What’s a REALTOR®?
The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional, who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. REALTORS® may be involved in residential, commercial, agricultural, or investment real estate (to name just a few) as brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, developers, and real estate counselors—essentially in all aspects of the real estate industry.
Who We Are
The Orange County REALTORS® in Orange County, California, is a local association of the National Association of REALTORS® (the world’s largest professional association). OC REALTORS® provides services and resources to licensed real estate salespersons and brokers, appraisers, and affiliated service industries such as mortgage, title, and escrow.
While sometimes we’re confused by the general public as being a “REALTOR® office,” in which real estate agents sell properties, OC REALTORS® is best described as the place where licensed real estate professionals join as REALTORS® or subscribe to the Multiple Listing Service and receive the tools they need to become competent, ethical real estate practitioners in their respective real estate offices.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Orange County REALTORS® is to promote the REALTOR® Code of Ethics; to provide education, services and resources to our members; and to advocate the protection of real property rights. Please take a moment to look through our site and find out more about the Orange County REALTORS®.
OC REALTORS®' mission extends beyond providing exceptional service to our members. OC REALTORS® is committed to protecting REALTOR® interests and property rights through effective education and advocacy. OC REALTORS® maintains robust political relationships with our local, state, and federal officials in order to promote responsible policy. This influence positions our members to be the voice for real estate issues in Orange County and beyond.
Bylaws and Policies
The Bylaws are the “ground rules” by which the Association is governed – from the duties of its Chief Executive Officer to the responsibilities of the membership. Each year, the Association reviews its Bylaws to assure legal compliance, to include any mandated changes by either the California Association of REALTORS® or National Association of REALTORS® and to update sections as needed.
Orange County REALTORS® Bylaws - Current Version
Orange County REALTORS® Policies & Procedures Manual
Awards
Orange County REALTORS® is proud to have received the following awards and accolades.
- 2019 Non-Profit of the Year Award from Assemblyman Bill Brough
- 2019 Friend of Housing Award from Lake Forest Chamber of Commerce, Awarded to Dirissy Doan
- 2019 Champions of Commerce Award from Lake Forest Chamber of Commerce
- 2019 Budget Taxpayer Watchdog Award from OC Auditor Controller, Eric Woolery
Annual Report
As a member-based organization, it’s important that we maintain transparency on how we operate.
Contacts & Locations
OC REALTORS® Laguna Hills
TEMPORARY LOCATION as of Oct 7, 2024:
25260 La Paz Rd, Suite I
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
(Below Yoga Studio, between La Paz Optometric Center & Sway Ballroom)
Phone: (949) 586-6800
Fax: (949) 586-0382
Membership Fax: 714-375-9322
Office Hours
8:00 am - 5:00 pm (Mon-Fri)
OC REALTORS® Fountain Valley
10540 Talbert Avenue, Ste. 225 West
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Phone: (714) 375-9313
Membership Fax: 714-375-9322
Office Hours
8:00 am - 5:00 pm (Mon-Fri)
General Questions: info@ocrealtors.org
A Brief History of Orange County REALTORS®
People often ask when Orange County REALTORS® was founded or how it began. The answer to this question is complicated because it involves several Associations, a series of mergers, and some name changes that took place over a period of more than seventy years.
The 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 Mediterranean-style 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.