Dear CAR Member,
I’m very excited to begin my term as your 2016 C.A.R. President. First, I’d like to thank our outgoing president, Chris Kutzkey, for serving this organization so well over the past year. I know she put in many miles traveling around the state to meet as many of you as possible. Thank you, Chris, for your commitment and enthusiasm to organized real estate.
I’m from Birmingham, Ala., where my father was a REALTOR®, and like Chris, I am also a second-generation REALTOR®. Coming from a REALTOR® family, I had the advantage of seeing firsthand the inner workings of a real estate business. I plan to work hard to promote the values I learned in my youth. As C.A.R. president, I will embrace our efforts to increase the competency, ethics and professionalism of all our members.
I won’t be doing it alone though. I’ll be joined by a very talented 2016 Leadership Team comprised of President-elect Geoff McIntosh, Treasurer Jared Martin, and C.A.R. Chief Executive Officer Joel Singer. I plan to work with this team to ensure that C.A.R. is focused, relevant, and ready to execute on important issues. I’m looking forward to serving you with this incredible team.
As I write this message, a very important housing issue is looming over us. Congress is considering a tax on mortgages to pay for transportation infrastructure. Thank you to the more than 29,000 California REALTORS® who contacted Congress to oppose this measure. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved a long-term-transportation bill with an amendment to exclude the tax. C.A.R. and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® vigorously oppose the “add-on” fee for all new conforming mortgages in order to pay for transportation infrastructure. This “g-fee,” which is actually a disguised tax on home buyers, could cost average California home buyers more than $8,100 over the life of their mortgage on a new home purchase or refinance and further erode housing affordability. The issue will now be resolved by a conference committee which is convening to meld the House and Senate versions of the bill. I’ll be sure to update you on the final outcome.
Speaking of updates, did you know you can stay up to date on legal issues with C.A.R.’s new, free Legal Hotline App? One of our most popular C.A.R. member benefits is now even more accessible for REALTORS® always on the go. The Legal Hotline App allows you to connect directly with attorneys via a click-to-call contact list, find useful legal Q&As, access zipForm® Mobile, and also receive push notifications for industry red alerts and calls-to-action. The app is available for direct download to your smartphone here.
A recent NAR survey found that a majority of home buyers said they worked with an agent they knew personally or through referrals and recommendations. That means it’s especially important to have an accurate and completed online REALTOR® profile so that prospective clients get the best possible first impression of you. That’s why C.A.R. has recently improved its “Find a REALTOR®” search, and integrated your realtor.com profile to appear in place of your old car.org member profile. This enhancement requires you to manage only one member profile and will show a much greater range of information, including your recent and past listings, years of experience, and much more. Changes made to this profile on realtor.com or C.A.R.’s “Find a REALTOR®” will appear instantly on either site.
If you haven’t claimed your realtor.com profile yet, I highly encourage you to do so as soon as possible. By claiming your personal profile, you can start to make connections and build your client network. Visit realtor.com and search for your first and last name, then click “Claim this Profile” and complete the remaining steps.
Have you ever wondered what is “big data” and how it affects you and your business? C.A.R. Chief Technology Officer Josh Sharfman recently convened four experts for a special roundtable, hosted by the Center for California Real Estate, to discuss the future of big data and real estate. As the prevalence and usability of data science continues to grow across the real estate industry, it’s important for REALTORS® to embrace big data to increase their value proposition and enhance relationships with their clients. The panel covered the practical applications of big data to the real estate field and why being proactive with big data can benefit REALTORS® strategically both now and in the long run.
Participants included Marty Frame, president of Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®); John Kelly, managing director of Berkeley Research Group; Sharran Srivatsaa, president and chief innovation officer of Teles Properties, Inc., and Ryan Marshall, chief executive officer of Benutech, Inc. The discussion stems from the Center for California Real Estate’s 2015 Roundtable Series. The Center is an effort by C.A.R. to bring together experts for substantive conversations on a variety of issues of growing importance to the real estate industry. View the full report and share it with your colleagues.
I look forward to meeting many of you in the next year. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Pat “Ziggy” Zicarelli
2016 President
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®