2018 was the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. HRRA commemorated the anniversary throughout the year with special publications, events, guest speakers and more.

Fair housing is more than a list of dos and don’ts, rights and penalties, and mandatory continuing education. As stewards of the right to own, use and transfer private property, fair housing protects our livelihood and business as REALTORS^® and depends on a free, open market that embraces equal opportunity. Fair housing Makes US Stronger.

Learn more and download materials at NAR’s website.

Before the Fair Housing Act
1789 – The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, the right to property
1857 – The Dred Scott Decision, U.S. Supreme Court declares that African-Americans could not be citizens and had no rights White citizens were bound to respect
1863 – Emancipation Proclamation, that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free
1865 – Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishes slavery in the U.S.
1866 – Civil Rights Act, declares that all citizens shall have the same rights as White citizens to own, occupy and transfer real estate
1868 – Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and all citizens are guaranteed equal protection of the law
1872 – Freedmen’s Bureau, established in 1865 were shut down
1896 – Plessy v. Ferguson, U.S. Supreme Court rules that “Separate but Equal” is lawful
1908 – Founding of the National Association of Real Estate Boards, later the National Association of REALTORS®, which allows local boards to exclude African-Americans and women from membership
1916-1970 – The Great Migration, African-American migration north to take advantage of industrial employment
1917 – Buchanan v. Warley, U.S. Supreme Court outlaws zoning based on race; Emergence of racially restrictive covenants
1924 – Code of Ethics states that a REALTOR® should never be instrumental in introducing into a neighborhood a character of property or occupancy, members of any race or nationality or any individuals whose presence will clearly be detrimental to property values in that neighborhood
1926 – Corrigan v. Buckley, U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to racially restrictive covenants
1934 – National Housing Act and Residential Security Maps had the result of denying financing in older urban areas and predominantly African-American neighborhoods
1943 – Stuyvesant Town housing project in New York approved for development with the exclusion of African-American residents
1947 – African-American real estate brokers form the National Association of Real Estate Brokers with the mission of “Democracy in Housing”
1948 – Shelley v. Kraemer, U.S. Supreme court ends enforcement of racially restrictive covenants
1950 – National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing formed
1956 – Interstate Highway Act paves way for urban highways often used to physically separate White and African-American communities
1957 – New York City becomes the first city to ban discrimination in private housing
1959 – Colorado becomes the first state to ban discrimination in private housing; By 1965, sixteen states had laws against public and private market housing discrimination
1962 – President Kennedy bans discrimination in housing funded by the federal government
1963 – California Rumford Act bans all housing discrimination in publically-funded housing and in all housing in buildings of five units or more
1967 – U.S. Supreme Court finds that a referendum, supported by the real estate industry, to repeal the Rumford Act violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866
1967 – National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing conducts audit to document fair housing/discriminatory treatment
1968 – Fair housing Act

The Hampton Roads REALTORS^® Association has a long and distinguished history. The name and jurisdiction has changed periodically during its 130+ years of existence, but the community leadership and accomplishments have been consistently outstanding.

 Formed in 1886

The Hampton Roads REALTORS^® Association began as the Norfolk Real Estate and Stock Exchange, formed on July 23, 1886. Nine men of vision recognized the critical need to organize a professional association for their industry. The jurisdiction included all of Southside Hampton Roads, and membership grew rapidly.

Changes through the 1900s

On May 31, 1913, the local group affiliated with the National Real Estate Board – a forerunner of NAR. Effective June 27, 1924, the name was changed to the Norfolk Real Estate Board. The Virginia Beach area established a separate Board of REALTORS^® on November 13, 1951. The Norfolk Board adopted the name Norfolk-Portsmouth Board of REALTORS^® on January 1, 1952. Six years later in May 1958, Portsmouth organized an independent board, which evolved into the Portsmouth-Chesapeake Association of REALTORS^®. The original group became known as the Norfolk-Chesapeake Board of REALTORS^®.

On January 31, 1981, history moved toward full circle as REALTORS^® in Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach recombined their resources to create the Tidewater Board of REALTORS^®.

In 1991, NAR approved a name change to the Tidewater Association of REALTORS^®, to make it easier for the public to distinguish between the Tidewater Association of REALTORS^® as a trade association with voluntary membership, and the Real Estate Board which governs licensing for all real estate agents.

The New Millennium

In 2000, the Tidewater Association of REALTORS^® and the Hampton Roads REALTORS^®Association merged to form the Hampton Roads REALTORS^® Association.

The Hampton Roads REALTORS^® Association, in its many forms, has supported this area for well over a century by providing its members with information on education, community service, and governmental affairs. It has established an impressive track record of service to both the community and the real estate industry. As it has in the past, the Hampton Roads REALTORS^®Association will continue to evolve as the needs of the membership change and grow.

Past Chairman
Life Members
Emeritus members
Industry Leaders

The Hampton Roads REALTORS^® Association is committed not only to protecting and preserving private property rights, but is also passionate about improving life across the region, through volunteer efforts as well as charitable donations.

The HRRA Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(C)(3) non-profit organization sponsored by the Hampton Roads REALTORS^® Association. The HRRA Foundation is a channel for the charitable and community service energies of the professional real estate industry. The money donated to this foundation, by charter, must be directed to meeting the charitable needs of the community and for education of the public and the real estate industry.

Make a donation today!

Join HRRA in helping the citizens of Hampton Roads in the fight to end homelessness, educate the homebuying public, and recover from natural disasters.

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Executive