REALTOR®: Real Estate Industry Has Become Fast-paced, Ever-changing
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
At a Bay Area summit attended by over 350 real estate professionals in Union City last week, California Department of Real Estate Commissioner Jeff Davi said the real estate industry today has become "a fast-paced, ever-changing industry," and he noted, the hundred of real estate professionals attending the event represented the "face of diversity" in real estate.
Davi was a guest speaker at the Second Annual Bay Area Multicultural Real Estate Summit held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Union City on Friday, Sept. 26. The summit was organized by the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors and 16 other real estate associations and one title company. This year, the Bay Area Association of REALTORS® served as the fiscal agent of this year's multicultural initiative.
In his address to the real estate professionals, Davi touched on the downturn in the housing market, the drop in the state's home sales, the record foreclosures and increasing REOs. He said due to the state's budget problems, his department's budget dropped to $44.7 million this year, from $47 million last year.
Davi said there are now 537,000 real estate licensees in the state, but the number is dropping due to the housing market downturn. Licensee applications have dropped from 240,000 in 2005, to 60,000 in 2007 and only 35,000 this year. As is the case in any housing downturn, there has been an increase in complaints and enforcement is up. The department has seen 8,200 cases in 2007-08; he expects the number to increase to 9,000 by next year.
Davi said the number of REOs has increased from 84,000 in 2007 to 160,000 in 2008. He estimated there could be as many as 200,000 potential REOs that need to be dealt with - some are listed, some are not, and some are in a state of disrepair. An REO (Real Estate Owned) is a property that goes back to the mortgage company after an unsuccessful foreclosure auction. Indicating the DRE's concern with the plight of troubled homeowners, Davi announced the department has stepped up its outreach efforts by offering foreclosure workshops and toolkits for REOs, which are entitled the "Road to Economic Opportunity."
The DRE commissioner highlighted a number of bills recently signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, which aim to increase accountability in the real estate market, improve standards in order to prevent abusive lending practices, and help individuals and families maintain homeownership in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis. Some of these bills are SB 1461 ( Negrete McLeod), which requires real estate agents to disclose their license number on all first point of contact marketing materials and property purchases beginning July 1, 2009; SB 1737 ( Machado), which authorizes the DRE to suspend or bar a person who has committed a violation of the Real Estate Law if the suspension or bar is in the best interest of the public; SB 1137 (Perata), which addresses the foreclosure process and requires lenders to contact homeowners and explore restructuring options before initiating the foreclosure process; and SB 1448 (Scott), which increases penalties for acting or advertising as a real estate broker or salesperson without a license.
Davi then noted California's population of 38 million is growing by half a million people every year. He identified the rising number of ethnic groups as the sources of population growth, with the most numerous being Hispanics, then Asians, and then African Americans and American Indians.
"California is the area in which new buyers of every culture are coming into real estate," he told the real estate professionals.
The Bay Area Multicultural Real Estate Summit was first formed by 11 real estate associations in 2007. The mission of the annual summit is to bring real estate professionals from all cultures together, and learn from each other about how to better serve the fast growing multicultural real estate communities in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara.
Along with the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®, the other associations included in this year's multicultural initiative were the Asian Real Estate Association of East Bay, Chinese American Real Estate Association, Chinese Real Estate Association of America, Filipino American Real Estate Professionals Association, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals of Alameda County, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, South Asian Real Estate Association of America; Bay East Association of REALTORS®, Berkeley Association of REALTORS®, California Association of REALTORS®, Contra Costa Association of REALTORS®, San Francisco Association of REALTORS®, San Mateo County Association of REALTORS®, Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS®, and Fidelity National Financial.
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.
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