Dear CAR Member,
I hope you’re having a terrific start to the New Year!
I’m excited to be your president this year. We know the market will be difficult for members and consumers alike. For consumers looking to buy or sell a home, having a trusted expert by their side to navigate one of the more challenging and rapidly shifting markets we’ve seen in some time will be essential to helping them successfully complete transactions.
C.A.R. is constantly looking for ways to help REALTORS® survive and thrive in complex real estate markets. After a year-long process, extensive survey and research, and member input, C.A.R.’s Strategic Planning and Finance Committee (SPF) and Mission Statement Task Force have developed a C.A.R. Strategic Framework, which defines the Association’s Mission and Vision Statements as well as C.A.R.’s Long-Term Goals, Operating Values and Culture Statement. The SPF Committee also unveiled the Association’s 2023-2025 Strategic Plan, which sets out the organization’s four overarching strategic pillars on which to focus. The Framework and Strategic Plan were approved by C.A.R.’s Executive Committee and by C.A.R.’s Board of Directors at the fall 2022 Business Meeting.
Since C.A.R.’s founding in 1905, the Association’s Mission Statement, when needed, has been revised to reflect the shifting needs of organized real estate and California REALTORS®. This most recent change, once again, reflects the ever-changing landscape and the environment in which California REALTORS® operate. Discover the new Strategic Framework and Strategic Plan here and watch the video below.
A new year always brings new laws that may affect REALTORS®. Here are a few of the top new laws:
Implicit Bias Training – Last year, implicit bias training was added to the mandatory coursework for first-time licensing and license renewals, which was to take effect Jan. 1, 2023. This law postpones the requirement when applying for a salesperson’s or original broker’s license until Jan. 1, 2024. However, Jan. 1, 2023, is still the effective date for brokers and agents renewing a license.
Prop 19 tax savings – According to a Los Angeles Times article last year, LA County had not processed applications for Prop 19 tax savings for over 1,200 eligible homeowners. This new law allows a homeowner to apply to have their property taxes deferred if the assessor has not completed its determination of the property’s eligibility under Prop 19. This is an urgency statute that took effect when the governor signed it in September. Taxpayers have until Jan. 1, 2024, to file for their deferment.
C.A.R. sponsored: “First Look” program for REO properties owned by large banks – This law creates a state equivalent of the federal First Look program, which gives priority to purchasers of foreclosed one- to four-unit residential properties who are prospective owner-occupants, nonprofits or public entities. During the first 30 days after a property is listed for sale, REO sellers may only accept offers from these eligible buyers. Moreover, REO sellers must “respond” in writing to any such offer received within the 30-day period.
In addition, this law prohibits bundled sales of such residential one-to-four properties. These properties must now be sold one at a time. The law applies essentially to banks that have foreclosed on 175 or more such properties in the preceding year.
C.A.R. sponsored: Residential housing may be built within areas zoned for office or retail with ministerial approval – This law, the Middle-Class Housing Act of 2022, allows a housing development project to be built on a parcel that is within a zone where office, retail or parking are the principally permitted uses.
The goal of this bill was not only to create more affordable housing but to do so without the necessity of public subsidies, income eligibility, occupancy restrictions, lottery procedures or other legal requirements applicable to deed restricted affordable housing. Moreover, builders and developers may proceed without cumbersome public hearings or CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) environmental impact reports under a streamlined ministerial approval process. In the coming years, where large retail stores like Sears or Kmart have gone out of business, this law will make it possible for new residential developments to be built in those places.
C.A.R. sponsored: Partition action procedures under the Heirs Law – In 2021, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act was passed, introducing a fair and rational procedure that allows owners to realize the full value of their property if a sale is ordered pursuant to a partition action. Among other things, it requires that in a partition action a court first mandate an appraisal and grant co-tenants an option to buy. If a sale is ordered, it must be a competitive open-market sale conducted through a broker, as opposed to a court auction. Finally, the broker’s compensation must be set by the judge, and it must be reasonable.
However, this procedure was limited to “heirs property,” meaning property owned at least in part by related persons. This law has now been expanded to apply to all persons who hold property as tenants-in-common, no matter how the property was acquired or whether such persons are related.
See all of the 2023 New Laws affecting agents, brokers and real estate in general.
Have a great year!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Branchini
2023 C.A.R. President