Press Releases
Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® Earns 4th NAR Platinum Award for Global Achievement
- For Immediate Release –
Cupertino, CA — The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) was awarded the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) PLATINUM Global Achievement Program Award for 2016 at the November 4-7 NAR REALTORS®' Conference & EXPO in Orlando. This is the fourth year in a row that SILVAR has received this recognition. SILVAR Executive Officer Paul Cardus and Global Business Council (GBC) Chair Mark Wong accepted the award onbehalf of the association.
The platinum award is presented by NAR to a local REALTOR® association for having demonstrated through its global business council exceptional commitment to building members' awareness of the global and multicultural business opportunities in their local markets. SILVAR, a professional trade organization representing over 5,000 REALTORS® and affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay, is the only association in Northern California to achieve platinum council status since the program's inception in 2011.
NAR commended the hard work of SILVAR's Global Business Council this past year and the dedication SILVAR has contributed to raising members' awareness of global business in our local market, noting, "Your council has shown the highest level of service to its global members by consistently providing them with the tools they need to handle international real estate. The services and resources your council works hard to provide are the benchmarks upon which the standards have been set."
"We are honored to receive NAR's platinum award for global achievement for the fourth straight year. There has been so much foreign buyer interest in Silicon Valley and our global business council has worked hard to present our members with programs that provide them with the knowledge and tools so they can best serve their international clients," said Cardus.
SILVAR GBC chair Wong is a REALTOR® with Alain Pinel Realtors Saratoga. This year the GBC presented programs on feng-sui, China, the EB-5 visa and an International REALTOR® Panel with REALTORS® from Japan, Iran, the United Kingdom and France. These programs were well-attended and oversubscribed.
In June, SILVAR conducted its fifth Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) Institute with 2012 and 2009 NAR International Instructor David Wyant. The CIPS Institute had 17 students from the San Francisco Bay Area and Canada. SILVAR currently has 52 members who are CIPS designees.
Additionally, as NAR's Ambassador Association to the Philippines, SILVAR supports and maintains ties with the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders' Associations, Inc. (CREBA), SILVAR's cooperating association in the Philippines. SILVAR member and past GBC chair Jennifer Tasto, a broker owner of Property Services, Inc. in Burlingame, is NAR's President's Liaison to the country.
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.