Dear Member,
Thank you to all of you who attended C.A.R.’s Legislative Day in Sacramento last month. Your attendance made it a great success! A near-record 2,300 of you turned out to hear California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and Assembly GOP Leader Kristin Olsen address us in the morning. Speaker Atkins spoke about the need to establish a permanent funding source for affordable housing programs and the specifics of AB 1335, a bill that would help fund such programs. Assembly Leader Kristin Olsen discussed the need to look for positive solutions to create housing opportunities and the need to address the root of housing problems, not just the symptoms. In the afternoon, we headed over to the Capitol to discuss with our state legislators the issues of importance to the real estate industry.
At Thursday’s Mid-year Luncheon, C.A.R. CEO Joel Singer discussed how a lack of new housing construction and the state’s slow-growth policies will hurt California by driving millennials out of the state to buy homes. He said that REALTORS® need to get involved at the state and local levels to push for more housing incentives and embrace density. View the complete presentation.
Many of you deal with property management and rental properties, and we’ve heard that some of you have had your rental listings taken over by scammers and posted on other websites, such as Craigslist. These scammers are stealing the address, photos, and other information from legitimate property listings and posting them on other sites to make it appear as if they own the property that they are advertising for rent. Some scammers even hijack the email accounts of property owners. These rip-off artists then scam unsuspecting renters by telling them to wire money to pay a security deposit, application fee, or first month’s rent. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reported an alarming increase in such scams and advises those who have been scammed to report it to their local law enforcement officials and directly to the FTC. Also, NAR has produced a video explaining how you can protect your property listings from rental scams. To see how these scams work, visit the FTC’s Consumer Information website.
Finally, the Midyear meetings may have just wrapped up, but it’s never too early to start planning for CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2015, held Oct. 6-8, at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose. In fact, registration is now open for early-bird rates. Join us as C.A.R. celebrates 110 years in real estate, looking back at a century’s worth of achievements and ahead to future success. Since we’ll be in the tech capital of the world, we’ll have a full-day of tech-infused sessions as we bring back Tech Tuesday for the first time in five years.
We’ll also offer a selection of paid events for those looking for a more intensive EXPO experience. The Broker Conference returns with thought-provoking and strategic discussions with inspiring leaders, including C.A.R. CEO Joel Singer. Gov Hutchinson Teaches the RPA will keep you updated on changes to the most widely used form in California real estate, and the Property Management and Investment Session and Networking event gives you a chance to share ideas with your peers from across the Golden State.
Free sessions will be offered across all three days, including Tuesday. Check the EXPO website often for session details, schedules, speakers, and more. And you won’t want to miss this year’s EXPO exhibit hall, which features more than 200 booths showcasing businesses, products, and services designed to meet your everyday business needs.
I hope to see you in San Jose. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.
Sincerely,
Chris Kutzkey
2015 President
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®