On May 3, Silicon Valley Realtors joined over 2,500 California Realtors in Sacramento for Legislative Day. Legislative Day is the one day each year when the state’s realtors meet with their respective legislators and discuss bills that could impact homeowners and private property rights. Realtors are the largest supporters of private property rights in the state.
Gov. Jerry Brown was back this year to speak to the realtors. He underlined the importance of their profession and the need to work together. “You touch people in the most important time of their life, when they buy a house,” said Brown.
At their meetings with Assembly members Marc Berman and Evan Low and state Senators Jim Beall and Jerry Hill, the realtors asked their legislators to oppose AB 1059 (Gonzales Fletcher), which prohibits dual agency in commercial real estate transactions. If passed, it would drastically limit consumer choice, according to the realtors.
Realtors want legislators to oppose to SB 649 (Hertzberg), whose intent is to expand the state sales tax to services. While the bill does not impose the tax itself, it lays the framework for a service tax.
“Real estate is the most service intensive business, with 10 to 12 services, like home inspection, appraisal, pest control, insurance, etc. A tax on real estate services would hurt housing affordability and especially adversely impact low and middle class families,” explained Silicon Valley Association of Realtors President Denise Welsh.
There are over 100 bills on housing this year, some that support it and others that could hurt it. The realtors sought legislative support for bills that seek to increase the supply of housing and oppose bills that discourage its creation, like stricter rent control.
“The only solution to the housing affordability problem is to increase the housing supply. Price controls are not the solution,” said Bill Moody, president-elect of the local realtor group. “Policies like rent control don’t work. Telling property owners that they can’t change market rates discourages investment in housing.”
California’s housing rate is the lowest in the U.S. According to the California Association of Realtors, 180,000 housing units a year must be built to keep pace with population growth, but only half of that number is being built.
Realtors want the legislature to streamline the permitting process for housing projects that meet all requirements; fix the California Environmental Quality Act to allow some developments to be fast-tracked; approve legislation that compels local governments to meet their housing needs; support legislation that funds affordable housing; and reject bills that discourage the creation of new rental housing.
The state legislators stated they value homeownership and do not support rent control.
“I’ve never liked it in any level of government,” said Hill.
Beall, who co-authored the bill signed to raise the gas tax in order to repair roads and transit, said the tax money is badly needed to repair the state’s decaying roads, highways and bridges. Beall said the tax is connected to homeownership because people forced to live miles away from work due to the high cost of housing have to drive through pothole-ridden roads, which costs them more on travel time and car maintenance.
Low said he hesitates on bills that increase the cost of housing. He called on realtors to attend council meetings to show their support so council members will “vote yes in my backyard, instead of no.” Low said many officials are afraid to vote with their convictions because any discussion regarding the creation of more housing results in a backlash from environmentalists and activists.