Historic Midland

LANGSTON
REALTORS
❖
Top: Joanne Langston, founding
chairman of an international real
estate consortium, with
representatives from Australia,
Ireland and New Zealand in 1986.
Below: Joanne and Harvey Langston
as young realtors in 1967.
Today’s Langston
Realtors was founded as
Harvey Langston realtors
over three decades ago in
1967. Homes were selling
for $8 to $12 per square
foot and the “upper range of
the market” started at
$29,000! A sale file usually
consisted of three pages: a
listing agreement, an offer to
purchase, and a copy of the
closing statement. A daily
“pink sheet” published by
the Board informed sales
associates of listed and sold properties. An exodus
of 35 major oil employees could depress home
values for months if not years! And the city’s leading
Realtor firms were the namesakes of their brokers:
Maxson, Moore, Roberts, Johnson, Pelletier,
Carr, Boerme, Wallace, Weaver and the new kid
on the block, Langston.
As technology and society have changed, so
has the real estate profession. Since 1967, property
values have multiplied by four to five times;
a “sold” file is one inch thick, consisting of eight
page contracts, eighteen page inspection
reports, and numerous disclaimers to protect
everyone involved! A vast computer system covering
virtually all of West Texas provides
Realtors instantaneous details on listed and sold
properties and numerous Realtor web pages disseminate
this information to a worldwide audience.
A strengthened, diversified local economy
protects real estate values even though groups of
transferees still leave. And Langston Realtors is
the only remaining office from 30 years ago.
The company that began in 1967 with one
listed property and Harvey Langston as its broker
and only employee, today is headed by
Harvey’s wife, Joanne, and consists of 45+ sales
associates, a staff of 10, two offices and $100
million in annual sales. In response to a growing
relocation market, Langstons has become a
leader in national and international relocation
organizations. In 1985 Joanne served as
President of RELO, the nation’s largest referral
organization of independent Brokers, and, in
1986, served as the first chairman of an international
consortium of organizations from the
U.S., England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, New
Zealand and Canada.
Langston Realtors and each of its associates
feel a strong commitment to Midland; the company
and its individuals generously give service
and resources to church, civic, welfare, education,
art and other community organizations.
Joanne was 1989-90 Chairman of the Chamber
of Commerce, chaired the opening of Museum
of the Southwest, co-chaired the opening of the
CAF Headquarters, and has served on many
community boards and as a volunteer with
numerous organizations.
78 ✦ HISTORIC MIDLAND