Part of the Group Behind the ‘Virginia is for Lovers’ tagline, Past Board President Leaves Legacy Proving Virginia Loved Him

"You list houses for sale, but you sell people homes."

-- George P. Shafran

By Jill Parker Landsman

George P. Shafran was the kind of leader who never let the future disturb him. When it came to his business sense, Shafran was concerned with the growth and success of the Realtor® association and, at business and political levels, for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was careful about his business at hand and had excellent instincts about the future.

Shafran, the 1961 president of the Northern Virginia Board of Realtors®, died of natural causes on June 7 at age 91 in his McLean home, with wife Angela by his side. His family and friends recalled that Shafran served as NVBR President for another year, either 1963 or 1965, when an installed president could not fulfill that term.

He was dedicated to politics and served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. According to his son Jack of Yeonas & Shafran Real Estate, Shafran was chairman of a Virginia committee that hired the ad agency responsible for creating the slogan "Virginia is for Lovers." Shafran ran for Lt. Governor of Virginia in 1971. He was appointed to President Reagan's Commission on Housing in the 1980s, served on the board of Fannie Mae and as Chairman of the Board of AAA Mid Atlantic.

“George was a true leader and innovator in the real estate industry,” said 2017 NVAR Chairman of the Board Bob Adamson, associate broker with McEnearney Associates in Arlington. “And we are all indebted to him for his efforts in creating a local MLS system here in Northern Virginia.”

According to son Jack, Shafran collaborated with other brokers in the 1960s to share their listings. “He would mimeograph copies of listings that he would hand write, with property info and how much commission he would share,” Jack explained. “Let’s formalize this,” Jack recalled his dad saying, “and distribute this through the board.” Riding around Northern Virginia in the car, Jack would go with his older brother to “deliver [mimeographed listings] to real estate offices. I was 7 years old, and I would drop an envelope in each of the offices. Other Realtors®’ kids did that, too.”

Stephen Yeonas, founder of the Stephen G. Yeonas Company, a residential construction firm that built in Vienna and throughout NOVA, was Shafran’s lifelong friend. “George had the personality and ability to negotiate a solution that would benefit all people involved,” said Yeonas. “George is the kind of person you want as a friend, neighbor and leader.” One testament to their professional camaraderie was the formation of the Yeonas and Shafran Real Estate brokerage, owned and operated now by Shafran’s son Jack and Yeonas’ nephew Dale.

Shafran served as a role model for those who saw this in action. “When I first got in the business my then-broker took me to George's office just to meet him,” said David Howell, McEnearney Associates EVP and CIO. “We weren't in the same company -- just sort of a pilgrimage to meet an industry icon. I knew of the Homes for Living Network even when I was a kid growing up in Texas.”

“George was a true leader and innovator in the real estate industry.”

Howell’s fondest memories were when he had lunch with Shafran, although he was no longer active in real estate. “He was always selling and promoting something -- a politician, a bank, a business deal he was working on,” he said.

Kip Laughlin, the1986 NVBR president, recalls how effective Shafran was at cultivating business contacts. “Every Sunday night he would call 10 people, and just stay in touch with them to see how life was treating them,” Laughlin said. “He would ask was there anything that he could help with.” Shafran was “a true statesman for the Realtor® community,” remembers Laughlin.

Leaders who come from this kind of mold are more motivated by what can happen to benefit others rather than serving themselves.

Mentoring future leaders was something Shafran always had time to do. Said 1985 NVBR President Tom Stevens, “As I got involved with the NVAR, George always made himself available as a source of information and support. I felt he went beyond helping and advising to make sure future leaders were successful.” Stevens was 11 years old when he met Shafran, and he explained that Shafran’s “giving back to the industry” will always be remembered.

Born in Pennsylvania, he was All-State in high school basketball and class president at Mount Carmel Township. He became a naval officer and attended Bucknell and Brown universities.

Shafran founded Better Homes Realty in 1951 and built it into one of the largest real estate companies in Northern Virginia by the 1980s, according to his family. He also founded Homes for Living in the early 1960s which was a network of 20,000 Realtors® throughout North America from 2,200 offices.

Since 2004, he served as a senior advisor to Monticello Capital, where he worked on corporate development, technology innovations and capital finance. In addition to his wife Angela, he is survived by sons Tom, Jim, Jack and daughter Jane; and seven grandchildren.