Marking PAR’s 100th Anniversary: Past President Stanley Lesniak

Editor’s note: The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As part of our Member Profile feature, we’ll be highlighting some of the Realtors® who have served as president of the organization.

Name: Stanley Lesniak
Company: Century 21 Absolute Realty
Years in real estate: 52 years
Local association: Suburban West Realtors® Association
Year served: 1997 president

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
If I could go back in time and give myself advice, I say do it over again.

Why should agents get involved in their local, state and national associations?
I think it’s important for more Realtors® to get involved in their local, state and national associations because this is the future of our business. We have to keep conditions so people can afford and buy houses. Being involved is good for Realtors® in the long run it, because it helps them and it helps the industry.

What advice would you give someone who was thinking of moving up through the offices in PAR?
I think getting involved is a wonderful thing. You get to see things from all over the state and interact with members from different areas, which is important. Being involved in the state association and the local association, I got to meet people and see how things were done in different parts of the state.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the real estate market since you started?
When I started in real estate, the franchises were just starting. In fact, I bought one of the first Century 21 franchises in Pennsylvania. Before that time, it was a lot of one- and two-man offices. We’ve seen that change drastically, where you now have large offices and teams within these offices, which are like offices within offices.

Do you think the environment or technology will have a bigger impact on real estate in the next 100 years?
I think technology will have more of an impact on real estate within the next 100 years. The MLS system is one example. When I first started in real estate in Delaware County, if somebody was to list the house in northern part of Delaware County and their office was in southern part of the county, they would refer it. Now if you’re listing a house anywhere in the state, you keep it yourself.