C.A.R. announces retirement of CEO Joel Singer at year's end

LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (C.A.R.) announced that Chief Executive Officer Joel Singer will retire at the end of this year, following 43 years of service with the Association. Singer is among the most well-respected REALTOR^® Association chief executive officers in the country.

"Joel has had a distinguished four-decade-plus career at C.A.R., with more than 30 of those years as CEO, overseeing the association's objectives, business development, strategic planning, legislative policies and product creation so real estate professionals can succeed in today's changing real estate market," said C.A.R. President Dave Walsh. "On behalf of C.A.R.'s leadership, staff, and more than 200,000 members, I thank Joel for his dedication and hard work, which has had a lasting and meaningful impact on the real estate industry, and I congratulate him on his retirement."

As an industry visionary, Singer led C.A.R. into the digital era by creating the California Living Network in 1996, one of the industry's first web-based listing and real estate information services. Singer was also the driving force behind establishing among the first state Association for-profit subsidiaries, Real Estate Business Services^® LLC (REBS^®) in 1995, which creates and sells standard forms, education and other products and services for REALTORS^®.

As its previous president and chief executive officer, he was instrumental in positioning zipLogix™ as the leader in the real estate forms and transaction management space. Under Singer's leadership and C.A.R.'s 20-year stewardship, zipLogix™ was at the forefront of electronic real estate forms and e-signatures. Singer oversaw the sale of zipLogix™ in 2019 in order to leverage best-in-class technologies and business systems to grow and further enhance the success of REALTORS^®.

Under Singer's direction, C.A.R. continues to have a strong presence in Sacramento, advocating for the real estate brokerage industry, housing, private property rights and other policy objectives. Recent legislative victories include supporting bills to ensure that real estate professionals remain independent contractors, create greater transparency for property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs, and help increase the construction of accessory dwelling units. C.A.R. also defeated a bill which would have eliminated the mortgage interest deduction for second homes and defeated a ballot measure that would have repealed the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

In 2018, Singer led the establishment of Californians for Homeownership, a nonprofit organization sponsored by C.A.R. that aims to address California's housing crisis through impact litigation. More recently, he oversaw the passage of Proposition 19, which allows qualified homeowners to transfer the tax base of their home to a replacement home.

Singer joined C.A.R. in 1978, serving as chief economist and heading the Association's Public Affairs department.

Since 2015, Singer has appeared on Swanepoel's Power 200 list, which identifies the 200 leaders that have the most power and influence to impact the residential real estate brokerage industry. He was named to the 2015 Inman 101 list of real estate industry doers "whose ingenuity, outspokenness, strength, conviction, power, and persistence are driving change."

Singer also was selected to Inman's list of Real Estate Influencers of 2017 for his long-time efforts to keep REALTORS^® at the center of the transaction. In 2004, he received NAR's William R. Magel Award of Excellence, which is presented annually to an individual who has truly excelled in his or her role as an association executive of a REALTOR^® association.

A search committee is being formed to conduct a nationwide search for Singer's replacement.

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with more than 200,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

SOURCE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)