Board Of Realtors

A photo caption on Page 1C yesterday transposed the identifications for Baltimore County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger and Gilbert Marsiglia, president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. Mr. Marsiglia was on the left.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 5/30/98

In its loudest statement yet that it wants to be a more vocal player in shaping the area it serves, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors announced that it is giving $250,000 to the Greater Baltimore Alliance.The "investment" in the GBA, an organization of private and civic leaders formed to promote Baltimore and its surrounding counties, will be $50,000 a year for the next five years. It is the largest gift by the board to any one organization."To me, this is one of the things that I am most proud of that I got the board to do," said Gilbert D. Marsiglia, outgoing president of the board of Realtors.

As Marc Witman prepares to take over as president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, the region's existing-home sales are robust and its economic picture continues to be bright.But there are always concerns. Concerns about an aging membership. Concerns about Maryland's high closing costs. Concerns about creating more productive partnerships with other organizations that will help give the GBBR a higher profile.Witman, an associate broker with Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. and the GBBR's Realtor of the Year, will officially take over Oct. 27 after being elected at last week's 12th annual GBBR convention.

Aided by steady growth and stable mortgage rates, the number of homes sold in the Baltimore region rose for the first time in three years in 1996, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors said yesterday.More homes sold in 1996 -- a total of 18,160 throughout the region -- than in either of the two previous years, the board said. Sales in 1996 were 11 percent higher than in 1995.December sales rose 15 percent, to 1,480 homes sold, rounding out a year marked by high volumes of inventory, intense competition among sellers and an abundance of special financing programs nudging first-time buyers into the housing market.

When Gayle Briscoe took over as president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors last October, little did she know that she would be presiding over one of the most turbulent years in recent board history.With the GBBR convention being held Wednesday at the Baltimore Convention Center, a new executive vice president ready to be introduced tomorrow and with her term almost over, she rattles off the adjectives that described the last 12 months:"Challenging. Stimulating. Mind-stretching. Faith-building.

The Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, based in the city since its beginning in 1858, plans to move to a Lutherville site in Baltimore County, according to a source close to the negotiations.The new site is believed to be along Bellona Avenue. The board is currently working out of 1501 W. Mount Royal Ave., where it has been for the last 25 years.The GBBR sold the building to Maryland General Hospital two years ago and then leased back 8,000 square feet. Its lease expires at the end of September.

Arizona company is offering books of floor plansIf building a home is in your plans for 1997, Home Planners Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., might have a book for you.The company's floor-plan books include "Country Houses", "Two-Story Homes", "200 Move-Up Home Plans", "Vacation Homes" and "Great Garages, Sheds & Outdoor Buildings".Books cost from $7.95 to $9.95 each, plus $3 postage. For more information, call (800) 322-6797 or write to Home Planners, 3275 W. Ina Road, Suite 110, Tucson, Ariz., 85741.

Board of Realtors names Cockey Realtor of YearAdam D. Cockey, president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, has been named Realtor of the Year by the organization. Cockey, managing director of W.H.C. Wilson & Co., was honored at the GBBR's 25th annual Realtor Awards Luncheon last week.Marc Witman of Long & Foster Real Estate was named Distinguished Realtor Sales Associate. Janice Frederick of Coldwell Banker Grempler Realty was awarded the Realtor Community Service Award.The Affiliate of the Year Award was shared by Robin Ballinger of Residential Title and Alan Ingraham of MNC Mortgage Corp.

Baltimore-area consumers have ignored fluctuating mortgage rates and bought homes steadily for much of the year, pushing August sales up 6 percent, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors reported yesterday.For the month, 1,843 homes sold in Baltimore City and Baltimore, Howard, Harford and Carroll counties, compared with 1,742 in August 1995, the board reported. Sales fell only in Howard County, by 5 percent.The number of contract signings regionally rose 10 percent, to 1,849 last month from 1,685 in August 1995, the board said.

Baltimore area home sales held steady in November, inching up just 0.54 percent but boosting sales so far in 1996 well above last year's, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors said yesterday.The board reported sales for the month of 1,304, compared with 1,297 for the same period a year ago.Sales for the year through November, however, jumped to 16,685, 11 percent higher than the same period a year ago, the board said.Sales have surpassed 1995 figures in every month except October, according to the Realtors' multiple listing service in the city and Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties.

The Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, founded in 1858 and the oldest real estate board in the country, is marking its 150th anniversary this year. "Part of the significance is that the founding principles at the time are pretty much the founding principles of the national organization at the time," said Vito Simone, president-elect and broker-owner of Simone Real Estate in Pikesville. The early ideas included having ethical business practices, sharing property information and lobbying the legislature.

Four veteran residential Realtors have left their respective agencies to form an independent brokerage, the group announced yesterday. Michael Yerman, Marc Witman and Brandon Gaines, formerly with Long & Foster Real Estate, and Georgeanna Garceau, a former Prudential agent, have created Yerman, Witman, Gaines & Garceau Realty. "We all enjoyed our former brokers but desired to be owners of something that we talked about and toyed with for years but just in the last six months began to coalesce into a real plan," Witman said.

The Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors has named Cindy Ariosa its Realtor of the Year. Ariosa, 44, says she has her trophy displayed in her Long & Foster Real Estate office, where she serves as regional vice president. She is president of the Greater Baltimore Realtors' group. Her resume also includes being a member of the Women's Council of Realtors and the Mid-Atlantic Realty Board of Directors. The Realtors' group also recognized other members: Doug Poole of Long & Foster as Distinguished Realtor Sales Associate; James Matthews of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage for the Community Service Award; Susan Myszkowski of Coldwell Banker as Rookie Realtor of the Year; and Jackie Nelson of Residential Title & Escrow Co. for Affiliate of the Year Award.

The Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors has scheduled its 17th annual fair for Wednesday in Woodlawn as unprecedented housing sales continue. More than 500 people are expected for the one-day event, which will include seminars to help agents and brokers fulfill their state licensing requirements, networking sessions and vendors who supply services and products for the industry. The group also will hold its annual meeting there. The Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors - founded in 1858 and the oldest real estate board in the country - represents 3,200 agents and brokers in the area.

Valuing the price of a house is based on a variety of factors including what other homes in the neighborhood have been selling for lately. Homeowners often get their initial figures from a Realtor, who provides a comparable market analysis by assessing a home's location, its amenities and the prices of similar properties sold during the past few months. While this is a good place to start, said Steven VanGrack, outgoing chairman of the Maryland Real Estate Commission, a market analysis is nothing more than an educated estimate.

Area real estate brokers will begin marketing city-owned residential properties for a fee under an agreement approved by the city Board of Estimates yesterday. Mayor Martin O'Malley praised the agreement with the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors as a better way to sell vacant city homes than relying on the slow-moving city bureaucracy. "We need to get more of these properties back on the tax roll," O'Malley said of the thousands of vacant houses owned by the city. "We're bad landlords, and we're bad real estate brokers.

The Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors named Judy Morris of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage the 2002 Realtor of the Year. A sales associate with Coldwell Banker's Lutherville office, Morris has served on the GBBR board of directors and as president of the local and state chapters of the Women's Council of Realtors. She volunteers with the Live Baltimore Marketing Center and founded the Friends of Druid Hill Park. Barbara Nock, Morris' office manager, described the 27-year industry veteran as a mentor in the office and a strong proponent of Baltimore City.

GBBR School of Real Estate plans pre-licensing course The Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors School of Real Estate will hold a pre-licensing course called "Principles and Practices of Real Estate" from Oct. 16 to Nov. 17. The course will be held at the GBBR Auditorium at 1306 Bellona Ave. in Lutherville. Classes will meet from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Costs include $195 for tuition and a $40 book fee. The course instructor, Fran Phelan, is a graduate of the Realtor Institute and a member of the GBBR.

In its loudest statement yet that it wants to be a more vocal player in shaping the area it serves, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors announced that it is giving $250,000 to the Greater Baltimore Alliance.The "investment" in the GBA, an organization of private and civic leaders formed to promote Baltimore and its surrounding counties, will be $50,000 a year for the next five years. It is the largest gift by the board to any one organization."To me, this is one of the things that I am most proud of that I got the board to do," said Gilbert D. Marsiglia, outgoing president of the board of Realtors.

As Marc Witman prepares to take over as president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, the region's existing-home sales are robust and its economic picture continues to be bright.But there are always concerns. Concerns about an aging membership. Concerns about Maryland's high closing costs. Concerns about creating more productive partnerships with other organizations that will help give the GBBR a higher profile.Witman, an associate broker with Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. and the GBBR's Realtor of the Year, will officially take over Oct. 27 after being elected at last week's 12th annual GBBR convention.