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The Center for California Real Estate (CCRE), an institute of the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), extends a special invitation to SAMCAR members to join an upcoming CCRE panel titled "CCRE Presents – The Next Era of Housing: AI's Role in Real Estate" on Tuesday, August 4, at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

Legislative Day is the California Association of Realtors signature legislative event. And legislative Day 2026 did not disappoint. Over 2,500 California REALTORS® descended on the state capitol during the C.A.R. Spring Business Meetings and took advantage of the opportunity to meet and discuss real estate related issues directly with their state legislators and staff. Read more about SAMCAR's participation in Legislative Day including hot topics and legislation and meetings with elected officials.

April 22, 2026 — The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) announced that the Middle-Class Homeownership Act has officially qualified for the state's November ballot as part of the campaign to build new housing and make home loans affordable for middle-class Californians. This measure enables middle-income Californians to purchase a new home with only 3% down, while spurring a wave of new home construction – at no cost to taxpayers. Read more to learn about the key aspects of the measure.

On Thursday, March 19 at the 2026 Annual Meeting, SAMCAR recognized recipients of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) Honorary Member-for-Life status, acknowledging their achievement of this prestigious membership distinction. Read more for a brief recap of the meeting, photos, and the full list of 2026 C.A.R. Honorary Member-for-Life recipients.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 6) -- Homeownership emerged as a defining issue in California's 2026 gubernatorial race as six leading candidates gathered in Sacramento for the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) 2026 Homeownership Matters Gubernatorial Forum, focused on expanding pathways to ownership across the state. Watch the recorded forum on https://www.car.org/meetings/livestream

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 18) – The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) has installed its 2026 Leadership Team. C.A.R. President Tamara Suminski, a Southern California real estate broker, will lead the team. Serving with Suminski are President-elect Mark Peterson, Treasurer Nikki Coppa and Chief Executive Officer Phil Hawkins. The 2026 officers begin their official term this week at the close of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®' (NAR) Conference and Expo held in Houston, Texas. (Read the full press release on the C.A.R. website.)

On Wednesday, April 30, your voices were heard loud and clear -- and the impact was immediate. Thanks to the powerful presence of more than 2,200 REALTORS® at the State Capitol, two of the most concerning bills we opposed were pulled from consideration before the day was even over. Read more about these bills and SAMCAR's participation at Legislative Day.

The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, passed in 1995 after a ten-year effort, remains a crucial protection for California property owners and future renters against extreme and damaging local rent control ordinances. Authored by State Senators Jim Costa and Phil Hawkins, it emerged in response to growing concern over cities imposing draconian rent control policies that stripped owners of their basic rights and discouraged investment in rental housing, ultimately threatening future housing availability for renters. Read more for a fact sheet provided by the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.).

On Thursday, March 27 at SAMCAR's 2025 Annual Meeting, SAMCAR President Frank Vella provided an overview of association activities for the year as well as the presentation of multiple special honors. Lifetime Achievement Award winner Bobbi Decker was recognized by Elections Committee Vice Chair, Robert Pedro. Recipients of the C.A.R. Honorary Member-for-Life were recognized by Association Executive Alane Gilbrech, acknowledging their achievement of this prestigious membership distinction. Honorary member Tom Tornquist led the Pledge of Allegiance to open the program and honorary member Phil Houston delivered a keynote address. Also at the Annual Meeting was the presentation of "2024 by the Numbers" — an infographic annual report — an update about the REALTOR® Relief Foundation from Jessica Eva, a legislative update with SAMCAR Government Affairs Director Fernando Peña and introduction to C.A.R. Field Representative Andrew Hughan, and an MLSListings update with Jean Joh and Dave Wetzel.

When your clients ask you about affordability, or if your sellers want to know what buyers will have to pay for their home, you can use the Purchasing Power Calculator from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.), to answer questions about affordability. This tool, offered by the California Association of Realtors, is regularly updated by the third week of each month with data from the previous month. This clip is of Jordan Levine, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of C.A.R., demonstrating how to use this tool during our latest episode of Statistically Speaking.

Director for Life is one of the most prestigious awards that California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) can bestow on a member. To be considered, a member must have years of outstanding performance and dedicated service to the Association, including a minimum of ten years of active service to C.A.R. and at least five years as a C.A.R. Director. We are pleased to announce that Michael G. Verdone received this honor at the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) Spring Business Meetings on May 2, 2024. Congratulations, Michael!

On Thursday, March 28 at SAMCAR's 2024 Annual Meeting, SAMCAR President Moisés Pelayo provided an overview of association activities for the year, and recipients of the C.A.R. Honorary Member-for-Life were recognized by Association Executive Alane Gilbrech, acknowledging their achievement of this prestigious membership distinction. Honorary member David Cline led the Pledge of Allegiance to open the program and honorary member Josephine Moore delivered a keynote address. Also at the Annual Meeting was the presentation of "2023 by the Numbers" -- an infographic annual report -- inspirational remarks by Affiliate member Olivia Edwards, a legislative update with SAMCAR Government Affairs Director Fernando Peña, and an MLSListings update with Mark Messimer and Jesse Gutierrez.

To address growing concerns surrounding finding and maintaining homeowners insurance coverage in California, experts at the California Dept. of Insurance, CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and United Policyholders, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of consumers, recently gathered for an insurance townhall briefing for REALTORS®.

State Farm and Allstate have announced they will no longer sell new home insurance policies in California because of wildfire risks and an increase in construction costs. C.A.R. has created a fact sheet, Quick Guide and One Sheets for Consumers to help address some common questions you and your clients may have about how this will affect consumers.

The NEW California Rental Listing Service is free for all C.A.R. members: get the listings, leads, and tools you need to conquer the rental market. Together with the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, Rental Beast is proud to provide C.A.R. members with a new member benefit: the California Rental Listing Service, the first statewide source of residential rental listings in California. (Read more to learn about this member benefit, including a link to register for upcoming introductory webinars)

On Thursday, December 15, SAMCAR Board of Directors and Staff gathered at Stamp Bar & Grill in San Carlos for a holiday luncheon where the three most recent Region 25 chairs -- Jesse Gutierrez (2020), Elmer Martinez (2021), David Zigal (2022) -- were recognized for their service to the Association.

In September 2021, the California Legislature passed and Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 263 (Rubio). The legislation changed the continuing education (CE) course requirements for Department of Real Estate (DRE) licensees effective January 1, 2023. SB 263 did not change the overall 45 hours needed of continuing education. Licensees with a renewal date of January 1, 2023, or later are required to take an Implicit Bias course and an Interactive Fair Housing course as part of their 45 hours of CE. Total required 45 hours of CE remains the same. Please review C.A.R.'s License Renewal page for more information: https://www.car.org/en/education/licenserenewal

On Thursday, March 24 at SAMCAR's 2022 Annual Meeting, the recipients of the C.A.R. Honorary Member-for-Life were recognized by 2022 President Jessica Eva, acknowledging their achievement of this prestigious membership distinction.

Proposition 19 is fully in effect as of April 1, 2021, protecting millions of older homeowners, homeowners with severe disabilities, and victims of wildfire or natural disaster. Resources for REALTORS® and your clients are now available at C.A.R.'s new Prop 19 website: www.caprop19.org as well as marketing materials for your clients from C.A.R.—"The Opportunity Is Now"

On Friday, March 5 at SAMCAR's 2021 Annual Meeting, the recipients of the C.A.R. Honorary Member-for-Life were recognized by 2022 President-Elect Jessica Eva, and NAR REALTOR® Emeritus recipient Sue Walsh was recognized by 2021 President David Zigal, acknowledging their achievement of these prestigious membership distinctions. Read more to meet your 2021 Honorary and Emeritus members.

On Thursday, March 5 at SAMCAR's 2020 Annual Meeting, 2020 SAMCAR President Elmer G. Martinez presented the recipients of the C.A.R. Honorary Member-for-Life and NAR REALTOR® Emeritus status with certificates acknowledging their achievement of these prestigious membership distinctions.

The California State Assembly passed Assembly Bill fourteen eighty-two and the bill has been signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. SAMCAR and the Coalition for Housing Equality, with the support of the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), is providing information to REALTORS® and property owners about the implications of this new state law and how to comply. For questions, please contact the C.A.R. Legal Hotline at (213) 739-8282 or legalhotline@car.org

On Thursday, July 18, SAMCAR's second quarterly membership meeting was held at Long Branch Farms in Half Moon Bay featuring real estate industry update presentations from 2020 NAR President, Vince Malta, and California DRE Auditor Cecilia Yan, along with welcoming remarks from Long Branch Farms owner, and SAMCAR Affiliate member, Kevin Palmer, an update from refreshments sponsor MLSListings, Inc., and closing remarks from candidate for 2021 C.A.R. President, Otto Catrina. Read more for a recap of theses presentations.

At the recent California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) Spring 2019 meetings in Sacramento, SAMCAR was presented with an award for Outstanding Member Mobilization based on the number and percentage of SAMCAR members who responded to the National Association of REALTORS® "Call for Action" in 2018 asking Congress to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).Thanks to all the SAMCAR members who took the time to respond to NAR's Call for Action urging Congress to extend the NFIP. When you take part in association efforts like that call for action, you are helping demonstrate the collective voice of organized real estate in service of protecting homeowners and your profession. Congratulations!