Dear CAR Member,
Last month, your Leadership Team and I attended NAR’s Legislative Meetings in Washington, DC, meeting with California’s congressional delegates and representatives from leading housing industry groups. It’s more important than ever to make certain our interests are represented and that our voices are heard before elected officials craft legislation that impacts our industry.
For example, one issue that we, along with NAR, discussed with the Federal Housing Finance Agency was its plan to change a mortgage fee for people with certain debt-to-income ratios. The fee would have been levied on certain borrowers with debt-to-income ratios above 40%. Future borrowers with a DTI ratio above 40% would have had to pay an additional upfront fee of 0.375% on their home loan that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would acquire. This new fee was supposed to go into effect on May 1, but has now been rescinded. The FHFA has since announced a “Request for Input” on those fees to gather information from the industry, consumers, academics and private market experts instead.
Exerting our influence proves the power of organized real estate and is a testament to the work we do in Sacramento and Washington, DC.
June not only marks the start of summer, it’s also National Homeownership Month. So, there’s no better time to hold a new edition of our popular STEPS: Financing the Dream of Homeownership virtual event so that our transaction experts can share the latest in lending and down payments with you. This popular virtual session is back on June 21 to provide current insights and answers for every step of the buying process. You’ll hear an economic update from C.A.R. Chief Economist Jordan Levine. Let me tell you – it’s a member favorite for a reason! If you’re interested in receiving all of the lending resources your clients will need for the market right at this very moment, sign up for free here.
In today’s rapidly changing market, now is the time to increase your knowledge and gain new skills to help you succeed. Register now for the must-attend industry event, REimagine! Conference & Expo, taking place Sept. 19-21 in Anaheim. We’re bringing back Tech Tuesday during the paid Pre-Conference day on Sept. 19 with an all-new hands-on experience exploring powerful tech tools you can immediately put to work to drive business growth. This expert-led day will cover how you can use AI and ChatGPT to increase efficiency, create engaging marketing and branding materials, crush it on social media and much more. Get your free conference and expo ticket (Sept. 20-21) and upgrade your experience with event add-ons, including Tech Tuesday and other can’t-miss Pre-Conference educational tracks (Sept. 19), keynote lunches (Sept. 20-21) and the on-demand session package (8-10 session replays). Hurry and save big on event add-ons with early-bird pricing now through June 14! Visit reimagineexpo.org for more information and to register now.
I hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Branchini
2023 C.A.R. President