Merced County Association of Realtors

December 2007

The Voice for Real Estate in Merced County California

The MERCED COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS is a trade association of REALTORS and related real estate business in Merced County California.

Merced County is located within one hundred twenty-five miles from the cities of San Francisco, Sacramento and Monterey. It is approximately three hundred miles north of Los Angeles. Yosemite National Park is approximately eighty miles from Merced. The University of California at Merced is located approximately four miles from Merced, in a beautiful country setting next to Lake Yosemite.

History of Merced County Association of REALTORS

In October 1944, coffee was twenty-nine cents a pound, the average price of a “modern” six room home in Merced County was $6,500, and the Merced County Association of REALTORS was founded. Today, the median price of a three bedroom home in Merced County is $345,000.

In October 1944, twelve association members attended a dinner meeting held in the Hotel Tioga. They came to hear an update by representatives from the F.H.A. office in San Francisco. Today, our association has five hundred members. Ninety members attended our last meeting.

In 1944, the association rented office space. In 1996, we moved into our new building on Main Street in Merced. The back entrance of our building opens onto the Arts Alley. We share the Arts Alley with the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, the Merced Civic Center and the Shannon Parcade. Our members and guests enjoy the free parking in the Parcade. Our main meeting room can accommodate 250 members. The Hotel Tioga is still a Merced landmark. In fact, it is right around the corner from our Association office.

The entire real estate section on homes for sale in the Merced Sun-Star in 1944 was contained in two columns. Descriptions were brief. The term “modern” was used a lot, along with the number of rooms. Today, there is a section in the Merced Sun-Star devoted to real estate using approximately eight pages each Saturday. The last monthly Home Search publication contained ninety pages. Although property descriptions are extensive, the term “modern” is seldom used. The number of rooms has been changed to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

Over the years, REALTORS have made important contributions to Merced County. McConnell State Recreation Area was named after our 1946 association President W. F. McConnell. Recently, our members worked closely with local community leaders to promote the building of the tenth campus of the University of California at Merced.

The population of Merced County has grown from 47,000 in 1944, to more than 215,000 in 2006.