The South Bay Association of REALTORS® welcomed Mayor Jim Aldinger of Manhattan Beach and Mayor Kelly McDowell of El Segundo to our popular “Breakfast with the Mayor” series on April 24. Each Mayor met REALTORS® from all over the beach cities and talked about issues in their cities and how they impact residential housing in the South Bay.

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The Los Angeles County Board of REALTORS® is hosting its “LACBOR Summit: Transportation and Traffic as it Impacts Housing” this Friday, May 2, starting at 8:30 a.m. An outstanding lineup of panelists will talk about transportation, the traffic crisis in our area, and what REALTORS® can do about it right now.

Come learn how your involved in this important issue can improve your business and your community. Click here for a registration form, or call 310-372-8453 for more information.

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C.A.R. is OPPOSING AB 2678 (Núñez) which will require a state agency to set up a process to require point-of-sale energy efficiency audits   on ALL homes and commercial properties in California.  These audits will cost up to $400 for homes and ultimately require point of sale energy efficiency retrofits that may cost THOUSANDS of dollars.  

While C.A.R. appreciates the goal of AB 2678 C.A.R. strongly opposes the point-of-sale requirements in AB 2678 because they fail to achieve the bill’s objectives and, such mandates will further weaken the housing mar ... Read More »

This past weekend’s trip to San Francisco showed a city in the middle of a renaissance, which is leaving it quite different than when we lived there it eight years ago, even though it is still the same in so many other ways – like the rich cultural diversity, economic vibrancy and its focus as a financial, political and social hub in California.

What is most interesting to us to is the newly reborn Ferry Building. Just a decade ago, it was a dark, underused and misunderstood building that a few passengers walked through while ignoring ... Read More »

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Association of REALTORS® made available this handy quick guide for real estate signage laws in PV. In fact, we liked it so much that we will shortly produce a signage law grid for the ten cities in the SBAOR area as well, in additon to the list of real estate signage laws already available here.

Many cities in our area are facing tough fiscal times, including the City of Los Angeles which is trying to figure out what to do with a $400 million deficit. Cities may sometimes look to raising fees and taxes - especially business license taxes - to help close the revenue gap.

REALTORS® should not have to face the brunt of the cities' fiscal crises by paying higher taxes and fees. To confuse the matter more, cities can one of several different methods for calculating business license taxes, based on factors such as net income, number of employees, number of transactions per year, and more. This document at C.A.R.'s Web site is a useful tool for understanding how business license taxes are calculated.

REALTORS® living or working in Gardena are encouraged to help ensure that the City's housing supply meets its fair share of the South Bay's housing needs.

The need for decent housing is one of the major issues facing Gardena. The City is required by state law to develop local housing programs and update the Housing Element of its General Plan.

Please participate in a community meeting to learn more about the Housing Element. The City wants your to hear your ideas on:

• increasing the supply of affordable housing units
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A ballot initiative to stifle Redondo Beach's economy is before the voters this November!

Voters will be asked to approve a measure that would put many development projects to a citywide vote. This brand of "ballot box planning" leads to poor planning in the city overall. It will not solve traffic problems in the city - even though that appears to be the intent of the measure's proponents. And it will add huge costs and risks to investment and economic growth in Redondo Beach.

SBA ... Read More »