Event Coverage
SILVAR Membership Maintains Target of 4,000 Primary REALTORS®
Over 300 members attended SILVAR's Economic Seminar & General Membership Meeting held yesterday at the Computer History Museum. The general meeting began with a welcome to members by SILVAR Membership Committee Chair Bill Moody and SILVAR President Gene Lentz, a report by SILVAR officials on the status of the Association, followed by the introduction of special guest California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) 2011 President-elect LeFrancis Arnold. The 2012 California Housing Forecast was later presented by guest speaker C.A.R. Deputy Chief Economist Robert Kleinhenz.
Executive Officer Paul Cardus proudly noted despite difficult economic times, SILVAR continues to remain solvent and its membership strong. Loud applause greeted Cardus' announcement that as of yesterday, SILVAR had reached the target number of 4,000 Primary REALTORS®, bringing the total number of REALTOR® members to 4,299 and total membership of REALTORS® and affiliates engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay to 4,598. SILVAR now has 4,000 Primary REALTORS®, 299 Secondary REALTORS®, and 299 Affiliated Professionals. SILVAR had a total membership of 4,313 last year.
Cardus said the last couple of years have been tough for real estate, but SILVAR is doing well, members benefits and education have been enhanced in the downturn, and membership has remained steady. He said the spirit of SILVAR is best represented by its membership and staff, with REALTOR® members who live in the communities where they work; hence, they are knowledgeable about their local neighborhoods and share a strong sense of community. He praised the quality of SILVAR's12-member staff and prudent judgment on the part of SILVAR's past and present Board of Directors and Budget & Finance Committee, who have had the foresight to invest in commercial properties.
Cardus then told members there will be no increase in membership dues next year, an announcement that was again greeted by members with loud applause. SILVAR has not increased membership dues since 2002.
SILVAR's executive officer then highlighted a number of new benefits for members, including the Authentisign™ e-signature service, a tool that allows users to have virtually any document electronically signed, whether that document was originally in electronic or paper form; a DocBox™ document management system; and DocBox2Go™, the mobile version of DocBox. In the last six months, SILVAR REALTORS® have uploaded over 17,000 documents totaling nearly 140,000 pages into the system. Then there is SILVAR's PRDS Forms on Instanet Solutions, which has launched a zero footprint version of the platform enabling SILVAR REALTORS® to create and maintain contracts and forms through popular tablet devices. Real estate documents can be loaded into the system, whether they were created in PRDS or another forms program. To-date there have been 2,488 unique SILVAR REALTOR® users, over 60,000 sign-ins, representing 58 percent of SILVAR's members.
"This is the type of innovation that distinguishes our Association," said Cardus.
Cardus urged members to continue their involvement in the Association and pledged more innovations to benefit members are upcoming. "If we are not working to make things better, we're allowing things to stay the same, and no one wants that," he said.
Political involvement is the most important component of the Association and SILVAR's emphasis in government affairs is what distinguishes SILVAR from other associations, according to SILVAR's officials. Government Affairs Director Adam Montgomery thanked members for their advocacy efforts. He said it was member involvement that helped persuade the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to keep Proposition 90 in the county to the benefit of senior citizens and the disabled. Montgomery asked members to continue to voice their concerns about policies that have or may negatively impact real estate, REALTORS® and private property rights. He thanked all who have contributed to the REALTOR® Action Fund (RAF), a resource that has been a key part of SILVAR's political success.
SILVAR President Gene Lentz thanked everyone for the opportunity to serve as this year's Association president and he, too, stressed the importance of political involvement among REALTORS®. "It has been an honor to serve as your president," said Lentz. "It's been extremely gratifying getting involved in politics, in the board of directors and in leadership."
Lentz then introduced special guest LeFrancis Arnold, who will soon be installed as 2012 C.A.R. President. Arnold indicated C.A.R. is the largest association in the country, with currently 160,000 members. Membership is expected to drop to 150,000 in 2012 because of the tough market. He commended SILVAR for its success in maintaining its membership even through the tough times.
"You have done a fabulous job in bringing people to you," said Arnold.
Photo Gallery
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.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.