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REALTOR®: Silicon Valley REALTORS® explore future of real estate

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Silicon Valley REALTORS® recently shared their ideas and insights on the future of real estate at a National Association of REALTORS® REThink Initiative Workshop held at the Tech Mart in Santa Clara. MLSListings Inc. hosted the workshop, which included 125 REALTORS® who do business in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

REALTORS® realize the business of real estate is facing a transformation. NAR launched the REThink Initiative in August 2012 to gather insights across the country from REALTORS®, academia, consumers and others. Information from these workshops will help NAR formulate a shared vision about the future REALTORS® want to create for themselves, their association, and the industry.

Participants were asked to consider a focal question: "In an ever-changing world, what is the future of the real estate industry in five to 10 years, and how will it affect consumers, including buyers and sellers, real estate professionals, industry organizations, NAR and state and local REALTOR® associations?" They examined several scenarios and issues likely to impact future housing patterns, design, and the consumer view home ownership. Topics included the recession, the global economy, technology, environmental concerns, population growth, and demographic forces like the retiring Baby Boomers, emerging Echo Boomers and ethnic diversity.

Leannah Hunt, past president of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) and a REALTOR® with Sereno Group in Palo Alto, said of particular relevance to Silicon Valley is the changing demographics of buyers. She noted foreign and immigrant home buyers are playing a key role in the region's housing market recovery.

"The market layout has changed.  The number of immigrant buyers in our area is astonishing," said Hunt. "We have to be able to respond and provide these buyers with the information they need."

The relationship between REALTORS® and consumers was also examined. Surveys show agents' roles are shifting, but their importance hasn't diminished. More buyers than ever now search for homes on the Internet, but agents are consistently rated as more useful than all other information sources.

While 90 percent of respondents in a recent poll of likely voters still think of home ownership as part of the American dream, 59 percent of Americans say they think it will be "somewhat" or "much harder" for their children to achieve that dream. Additionally, studies indicate Gen Yers drive less due to a slack economy and environmental concerns. This could mean housing without alternate transportation options might be less attractive and walkability scores will matter more in the future.

"Google and other companies have fleets of buses that transport over 8,000 employees to and from their offices. Many employees live in San Francisco and commute to Silicon Valley," observed SILVAR president-elect David Tonna, a broker associate with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos.

REALTORS® found value in the discussions. "The workshop provided a healthy exchange of ideas," said SILVAR Board Director David Barca, a broker associate at Alain Pinel Realtors, Menlo Park. "It was refreshing and stimulating and brought new things to light."

"This experience forced us all to take a hard look at the future of the real estate business and the relevancy of the REALTOR® in this high-powered technology driven age. Each of us explored the many facets of the business impacted by information, communication and marketing technologies and offered our own creative solutions," said Sara Spang, a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty, Palo Alto, and chair of SILVAR's Palo Alto District.


The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.

For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.

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