The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors hosted a luncheon last week with guest speaker Toby Bradley, president of the California Association of Realtors. Bradley was introduced by Jeff Barnett, vice president of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos, who also serves as California Association of Realtors director of Region Nine, representing Silicon Valley at the state level.

Bradley talked about some of the challenges facing homeowners and Realtors today, sharing her thoughts on politics, technology, cultural diversity and affordability. She reminded the audience that Realtors are advocates for consumers and have been instrumental in passing legislation to benefit homeowners.

She cited the FICO credit scoring bill, which has been passed, that allows consumers to access their credit score information as an example of a bill that was initiated in California through the efforts of Realtors and became a model for the nation. In addition, the California Association of Realtors has created a political action fund that can be used for education and mobilization to promote the passage of bills such as this.

Bradley said Realtors often contend with the problem of NIMBY or Not in My Backyard when it comes to legislation. The state association, which is expected to climb to 144,000 members in 2004, is working to improve jurisdiction issues and to find ways to promote more affordable housing.

In response to the growing issue of affordable housing in California, the association has taken giant steps to tackle the problem, Bradley said. The state association has established a housing opportunities task force, composed of members who are committed to finding solutions, and a housing affordability fund that is designed to distribute funds through local associations to get people into housing.

The idea is that local associations can develop their own approach by using "sweat equity" and money and get matching funds from the housing fund, said Bradley. She is convinced that this approach will work and truly make a difference. Bradley cited Habitat for Humanity as one example of a successful program.

At the event, Mickey Shaevitz, president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors Charitable Foundation Trust, presented Bradley with a check for $10,000 for the newly established California Association of Realtors Housing Opportunities Fund. "This check for $10,000 represents our support and concern for affordable housing," Shaevitz said.

Housing affordability was also one of the hot topics at the annual National Association of Realtors Conference and Expo held in San Francisco in early November. More than 23,000 Realtors attended the four-day conference. A local delegation included directors for the national association Susan Tilling, Jeff Barnett and David Barca; Silicon Valley Association of Realtors President Judy Jarvis Ellis; Realtor members Willi Krauss, Phyllis Carmichael, Dante Drummond, Leannah Hunt, Mark Burns, and Elyse Barca; and the local association's General Counsel D. Kent Westerberg, Executive Officer Janet Case and Government Affairs Director Natalie Cardenas.

Among the issues discussed by real estate leaders and industry experts addressing the conference were housing affordability, property and casualty insurance reforms and policies for governing display of online property listings. In addition to participating in briefings and education sessions, conference attendees heard presentations in political forums on major issues facing the real estate industry. Sessions included presentations on the economic outlook for residential real estate, a forum on commercial real estate business trends and forums on international real estate.

During the conference, the National Association of Realtors made a $50,000 contribution to victims who had lost their homes or whose homes had suffered damage as a result of the raging fires in Southern California.

Realtors were reminded that the housing sector is the engine that has driven the economy for the past several years and comprised 68 percent of all U.S. economic growth in the past two years. In fact, the housing sector represented nearly 15 percent of the gross domestic product, or $1.5 trillion, for 2002. When considered with commercial sales and collateral expenses, the real estate sector represents nearly 22 percent of the GDP.

Attendee Susan Tilling, National Association of Realtors Director representing the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, said major themes and successes at the convention included housing affordability; cultural diversity in real estate ownership and Realtor membership; and political affairs' fundraising and grass-roots advocacy. Tilling noted that one of the issues of increasing concern centers around the preemption of state laws by federal legislation.

"The California Association of Realtors and the California Legislature have already pursued some of these issues and crafted legislation which may better protect the consumer and the Realtors. The associations would seek substantial compliance provisions, rather than federal preemption," Tilling said.

Another area of concern is the case of the disappearing tax incentives or what Tilling calls "the ticking time bombs," referring to significant tax cuts that were enacted in the past few years that will begin to expire, continuing through 2010.

"Congress will need to act in order to reinstate them. The exemptions, tax rates and other structural issues are incredibly complex and contribute to tax- and estate-planning confusion," Tilling said. "It would be good to have a child in 2010, but the best estate-planning strategy would be to die in 2009. A perplexing dilemma, right? We will have to stay posted for further developments."