On April 22, 2,300 California REALTORS®, including members from the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), traveled to Sacramento to meet with their state legislators and discuss important issues that affect the real estate industry.
At the California Association of REALTORS® Legislative Day morning briefing, C.A.R. President Chris Kutzkey said this year marks 110 years of member involvement, when dedicated members began working for homeownership and the preservation of private property rights. She said Realtors are up against well-organized powerful special interests whose proposals hurt housing and homeownership.
"We are here to stand up for those who can't speak for themselves," said Kutzkey.
Silicon Valley REALTORS® met with Assembly members Evan Low and Rich Gordon, state Senator Jerry Hill and staff of Senator Jim Beall and asked them to support the REALTOR® position on these issues:
Vote YES on AB 237 (Daly) – Parcel Tax Notification. Requires local governments to notify all property owners of an upcoming vote on a parcel tax, even if the owner doesn't reside in the area. Property owners who pay the parcel taxes approved by the voters should have the right to be aware of an impending vote.
Vote NO on SB 8 (Hertzberg) – Service Tax. Essentially a sales tax on services that includes real estate transaction services that would significantly increase the cost of buying or selling a home and negatively affect housing affordability. Services that would be taxable would include appraisal fees, brokerage fees, home inspections, Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) reports, pest control inspections, title insurance, escrow fees, loan origination fees, home warranty policies, home improvements to prepare a property for sale (e.g. including painting, carpet cleaning, landscaping and staging), and various legally-required retrofits.
Vote NO on SB 364 (Leno) – Ellis Act Restrictions. Forces rental property owners in San Francisco to stay in the rental housing business for at least five years, substantially limiting a property owner's right to legitimately occupy their own property or legitimately want or need to go out of business.
The legislators thanked the REALTORS® for personally speaking to them about the issues. They expressed their concerns about housing affordability and the drought.
Gordon said SB 364 may be the solution for San Francisco, but it is not the solution for the state of California. A better approach is more housing, not just preserving some of the existing stock.
"At the end of the day, we need to create more housing opportunities and ways to get into more housing – not just affordable and low cost housing, we need housing at all price ranges," said Gordon.
Housing affordability is a serious challenge for California, said the legislators. "We need to collectively solve these problems. It hurts me that the American dream is not attainable for generations after us. We have a crisis in the state of California - how to fund and make sure that we have the opportunity for good paying jobs to buy a house and live in the community we work in," said Low.
Addressing the drought, the legislators said there needs to be drastic changes in how the system works, like recycling and desalination, instead of continued reliance on the snow-packed Sierras.
"We need to make structural changes on how to deal with the issue," said Hill.
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 email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.