Dear CAR Member,
More than 2,200 REALTORS® came to the State Capitol in Sacramento last month for C.A.R.’s first in-person Legislative Day since 2019. Legislative Day was an opportunity to hear from and share our concerns and priorities with leaders of our state who are deciding on policies that will govern our daily lives. Gov. Gavin Newsom, California State Senate Majority Leader Emeritus Bob Hertzberg and Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher addressed the assembled REALTORS® in the morning. Later, members met with their local elected officials to share our legislative priorities.
As the REALTOR® Party of California, we’re not governed by political parties or preference. Instead, we’re united in advocating for policies that protect private property rights, build more homes, create strong fair housing practices, stop unfair taxes on real property and create more access to homeownership opportunities. Legislative Day was an opportunity to unite and convene on our core priorities.
Because of your effective advocacy on Legislative Day on both of our designated “hot issues,” there is no doubt that the REALTOR® Party is a strong and unified voice for housing and property rights. In the first hot issue, C.A.R. defeated AB 2710 (Kalra), known as the Right to First Offer, a bill that would have severely exacerbated the housing crisis in California. In the second hot issue, C.A.R. had been advocating for the Senate to allocate more money for home ownership housing in the budget. The day after Legislative Day, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senate Budget & Fiscal Committee Chair Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) announced the second phase of the Senate’s “Putting Wealth to Work” budget proposal that would allocate $1.5 billion for California first-time homeowners and the construction of affordable owner-occupied homes.
Thank you to everyone who made Legislative Day such a success! If you missed it this year, check out this video of the highlights. We hope to see you next year!
While I’m on the topic of government and politics, if you’ve ever been interested in learning more about local government and how to get involved in politics at the local level, here’s an educational opportunity just for C.A.R. members. In partnership with Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, C.A.R.’s Center for California Real Estate (CCRE) is presenting Leadership in Local Government, a series of free, virtual sessions under the direction of Pete Peterson, Pepperdine’s dean of the School of Public Policy. The six-week workshop will be divided into two parts. The first three sessions explore how local governments operate, how they’re funded, and how policy decisions get made. The next three sessions will focus on how to run for local office, including how to decide which office to run for, what to consider prior to deciding whether to run, how to run a campaign, raise funds and build political networks. The workshops take place on Thursdays, June 2 through July 7, from 2 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Register for free here.
When it comes to client marketing, 2022’s three-headed monster is Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, especially for millennial clients. A large portion of first-time homebuyers rely on the tiny screen in their pocket to provide them with information about purchasing a home, but do you know how to reach them there? The next in our virtual summit events — Marketing Xperience: A Virtual Summit — held June 1, will customize the not-so-scary current viral trends you see on your phone for your listing and client strategies. The $15 C.A.R. member pass includes on-demand access to all sessions through July 30. Learn more and register here.
Lastly, last month, I mentioned C.A.R. is hosting a Fair Housing Day event next Tuesday, May 17, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., for all C.A.R. members to share business tools and fair housing basics from keynote speakers, industry leaders and practitioners with deep experience working to expand homeownership opportunities. Sign up here for free.
Sincerely,
Otto Catrina
C.A.R. President