The collapse of the Soviet Union has brought enormous economic change to former Soviet Bloc countries in Eastern and Central Europe. High on the list of benefits has been the introduction of private property rights -- a concept that was virtually nonexistent seven years ago.

To help the former Eastern Bloc countries develop private property markets, the National Association of Realtors (N.A.R.) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) established the Eastern European Real Property Foundation in 1992. Today, the foundation is a separate entity apart from N.A.R., but the national association continues to provide extensive in-kind contributions, expertise, and technical assistance, according to Norman Flynn, chairman of the board, president of the foundation, and owner of a commercial/investment brokerage of his name in Madison, Wis.

"We've been working over the last five years trying to help organize the real estate industry in the former Soviet Bloc," Flynn explains. "Prior to 1990, there were no brokers, no salespeople, no appraisers, and no property managers. Private ownership of property was against the law. If you transferred an apartment that you had been given tenancy in and profited by it in any way, they would put you in jail. Not only wasn't there an industry; it was the antithesis of an industry."

A lot has changed since then. "Now, in the eight countries where we are working, we have over 70,000 practitioners, all subscribing to codes of ethics," Flynn says. "All have individual training programs. All are helping to pass the appropriate laws to ensure that private property rights are preserved. We think that's neat stuff."

The eight countries being assisted by the foundation are Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. Flynn, who is half-Irish and half-Ukrainian, has traveled extensively throughout all of those countries, except Romania. "I've been to Ukraine 17 times," he says. "I have spent over 550 days in the former Soviet Union in the last four and a half years."

The foundation's advocacy of private property rights and shelter needs in Eastern Europe recently was recognized by the USAID, which named N.A.R. and the foundation as the 1997 recipients of the Domestic Partnership Award. The award was presented in late November to Flynn and N.A.R. President R. Layne Morrill.

N.A.R.'s commitment to the foundation is part of the association's International Operations, which currently maintains cooperative agreements with 38 professional real estate associations in 33 nations. Commenting on the USAID award, Morrill said, "By expanding our international network to real estate associations in emerging markets, we'll contribute to the establishment of private property rights worldwide. As the countries of Eastern and Central Europe continue to transform economically and socially, housing will be prominent on their development agendas. The great American dream of homeownership isn't limited to America -- it's an ambition common to the world."