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Geoff McIntosh is broker and co-owner of Main Street REALTORS® in Long Beach, Calif. He previously served as the Association’s treasurer in 2014 and 2015. He oversees the activities of his 230-plus REALTORS® and also serves the real estate needs of his own clients. Active in organized real estate, McIntosh previously served as president of the Pacific West Association of REALTORS®, the Greater Long Beach Association of REALTORS®, and the Apartment Association, California Southern Cities.

Streamlining the permit process for solar energy installation will encourage the effective development of solar technology, and minimize the obstacles and permit costs for installation. Residential solar permitting fees have been reduced, saving more than half in permit costs. Previously, the permit fee for a residential solar system topped $1,000; however, with the new process, fees have been reduced to $304.

Expanded Counter Plan Check allows for modest projects — like multi-floor tenant improvements, medium-sized home additions and others — to be reviewed on the same day instead of waiting weeks with larger projects.

California’s housing market will continue to improve into 2016, but a shortage of homes on the market and a crimp in housing affordability also will persist, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (C.A.R.) “2016 California Housing Market Forecast,” released today

Sharon Duplechan has lived at Woodhaven Senior Residence for the past two years and today she's excited to celebrate the completion of the $10.9 rehabilitation project by The John Stewart Company, owner of the property that serves low income seniors.

“The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision is supported by law, policy, and commonsense, and prevents a clear attempt by Cadiz Inc. to create a loophole to avoid federal review. The BLM has a responsibility to all Americans to fully understand the impacts this project proposes on public lands, including impacts on our water resources and national parks. This decision opens the door for good science and objective decision makers to participate.”

Last week, the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) filed a lawsuit in federal court against the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), challenging HUD’s denial of a fee waiver for a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. CRC submitted the FOIA request to better understand HUD’s role in overseeing the reverse mortgage industry, the national impact of foreclosures on widowed seniors due to reverse mortgages, HUD’s response to these foreclosures, and the track record of OneWest Bank and its reverse mortgage subsidiary, Financial Freedom.

Energy consumption by commercial properties in San Francisco has declined significantly since 2011 after the implementation of San Francisco’s Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance, according to a new report released today from the Urban Land Institute Greenprint Center for Building Performance (Greenprint).

California State Senate Bill 252, introduced by Senator Mark Leno, to waive high school equivalency exam fees, for homeless youth under 25, was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on September 20, 2015. The bill goes into effect January 1, 2016

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Lourdes Castro Ramirez will join local leaders in Sacramento, CA on Monday, September 28, 2015 to announce a major funding award that will revitalize distressed neighborhoods and increase opportunity for low-income residents.

California pending home sales declined in August but remained strong, marking 10 straight months of year-over-year gains, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today. In a separate report, California REALTORS® responding to C.A.R.’s August Market Pulse Survey saw a drop in sales with multiple offers compared with July, as market competition cooled down toward the end of the home-buying season.

Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced the first steps of a comprehensive strategy to address the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, an effort that would invest at least $100 million annually in City funding to help house tens of thousands of homeless individuals

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement regarding Governor Jerry Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 107, which takes effect immediately, authorizing San Francisco to use bond financing to expedite the construction of previously-approved affordable housing projects for the Transbay, Mission Bay and Hunters Point Shipyard/Candlestick Point redevelopment areas and allows for the construction of nearly 3,300 affordable homes for the City

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced the acquisition and preservation of 2840 Folsom Street, a six-unit apartment building in the Mission District known as the Pigeon Palace. The project was acquired through the City’s Small Sites Program (SSP), which is currently funded through the voter-approved, 30-year $1.3 billion Housing Trust Fund. The SSP provides financing for the acquisition and rehabilitation of privately-owned properties in order to protect existing tenants from eviction, establish long-term affordability and stabilize neighborhoods.

Following a hotter than usual summer of homes sales, California’s housing market cooled in August, but still posted higher year over year for the seventh straight month, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Governor Jerry Brown today joined mayors and governors from across the U.S. and China to sign the U.S.-China Climate Leaders Declaration. The Declaration affirms commitments by cities, states, and provinces to meet emissions targets that exceed national goals established by their respective countries and sets ambitious, verifiable actions to combat climate change while supporting and expanding bilateral cooperation and dialogue

Mayor Edwin M. Lee with Supervisor Mark Farrell introduced legislation at the Board of Supervisors to make changes to the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to speed up production of affordable housing in San Francisco for low and middle income families. The legislation, part of the Mayor’s Blueprint to 10,000 announced last week that sets forth a blueprint to provide more than 10,000 permanently affordable homes to families and residents by 2020, will help the City better meet the needs of low and middle income families who need housing

Appealing from a ruling of the California Supreme Court, Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) announced today that it has just asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a constitutional challenge to San Jose’s “Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.” The ordinance penalizes homebuilders — and raises overall home prices — by forcing homebuilders to dedicate a percentage of units as below-market residences, or pay into a city housing fund

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement regarding the devastating Valley Fire in Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties that has burned 61,000 acres and has destroyed hundreds of homes

the California State Assembly took major steps forward in the fight for a cleaner, healthier future for all by passing Senate Bill 350. Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León’s SB 350 requires 50 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources and doubles energy efficiency in buildings, both by 2030.