UPSTAR - Upstate Alliance of REALTORS®

UPSTAR Historical Timeline

1913:

The “Fort Wayne Real Estate Exchange” was formed on April 22, 1913 as a not-for-profit organization, only five years after the National Association of REALTORS^® (NAR) was established. The organization became affiliated with NAR and the Indiana Association of REALTORS^® (IAR) that same year.

1917:

The name was changed to the Fort Wayne Real Estate Board on February 28, 1917 and it was incorporated under the laws of Indiana as a not-for-profit corporation.

1953:

On January 27, 1953, the organization underwent another name change to the Fort Wayne Board of REALTORS^® and then to the Fort Wayne Area Association of REALTORS^® (FWAAR).

1977:

The first formal Association offices were in the Central Building on Fairfield Avenue in 1977, using the motto, “REALTORS^®, We do our homework.”

1982:

The Association office moved to a small, unique triangular-shaped office building which was purchased on St. Joe Boulevard. Also in 1982, the Association purchased the Multiple Listing Exchange/Association, formerly operated by area brokers using weekly paper listing exchanges. It was renamed to the Fort Wayne Area Multiple Listing Service (FWAMLS) and became a wholly owned, for profit subsidiary, with its own Board of Directors.

1986:

Growing membership and increased services required another move to 3124 Lake Avenue.

1996:

In 1996, the then Fort Wayne Area Association of REALTORS^® experienced its first merger with the Whitley County Association of REALTORS^®.

1997:

The building at 3124 Lake was sold and the offices were moved to temporary quarters at 3401 Lake Avenue until a new building could be built. The move allowed the FWAMLS to be housed on-site with the newest computer system available, a legacy system provided by Interealty. The hardware needed the space of an entire room but response time was greatly improved.

2002:

The Association moved into its new headquarters at 3403 E. Dupont Road, situated with close access to I-69 for the convenience of service to outlying regions. Also in 2002, the FWAMLS went live with a new MLS vendor, the Rapattoni Corporation.

2004:

FWAAR reached an agreement with the Huntington Association to provide MLS services to their members.

2005:

A public facing website, where consumers could search for homes, was offered to the community.

2007:

FWAAR reached an agreement with the Adams, Jay, Wells County Board of REALTORS^® (AJW) to provide MLS services to their members.

2008:

The Fort Wayne and Huntington Associations merged to become one.

2009:

FWAAR and the AJW association merged to become one.

2010:

The Huntington and AJW mergers prompted the name change to “Upstate Alliance of REALTORS^®” in 2010 to better reflect the expanded membership jurisdiction.

2012:

Always looking to enhance the MLS for members, the LPS Real Estate Group, featuring the new Paragon 5 MLS system, was selected as the new vendor for UPSTAR MLS. The conversion from Rapattoni to Paragon 5 MLS took place in February 2012. This year also marked the achievement of a long-term strategic goal for UPSTAR—MLS regionalization. UPSTAR was among the 13 founding MLSs to form a new company called “Indiana Regional MLS.” The new LLC was formed and the new Board of Directors was seated in September 2012.

2013:

UPSTAR celebrates its 100th year anniversary. On February 25, 2013, UPSTAR MLS was the first of 13 MLSs to migrate to the new Indiana Regional MLS system. MARKET CONDITIONS: With double-digit decreases in housing inventory for months, the inventory level dipped below 3,000 units, a level UPSTAR had not seen for nearly a decade.

2020:

NAR establishes a new mandate for Realtor-owned MLSs called the MLS Clear Cooperation Policy to bolster cooperation and advance the positive, procompetitive impacts that cooperation fosters for consumers. MARKET CONDITIONS: In early 2020, the local market housing inventory reached some of the lowest levels recorded—well below 1,000 units.