Buying a home in California is already out of reach for too many families. That is why the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) works to stop state bills that would add new costs or make it harder for Californians to buy, sell and remain in their homes. AB 736 would have opened the door to higher transfer taxes on homes. Stopping it was one of our highest priorities this year.  

 

AB 736 would have encouraged local governments to impose higher transfer taxes when a home is sold, especially on higher value homes, increasing the cost of a real estate transaction at a time when many Californians are already struggling to afford a home. 

 

In just over 24 hours, REALTORS® across California made more than 12,000 phone calls to legislators opposing the proposal. Drawing on the experiences they see every day with buyers, sellers and families in their communities, REALTORS® delivered a clear message: California cannot address its housing affordability crisis by creating another financial barrier to buying or selling a home. 

 

Legislators could not help but hear the REALTORS®; the bill was swiftly withdrawn and will not be moving forward this year. 

 

C.A.R. also actively supported a separate agreement that addresses special taxes on property that increase the cost of homeownership. A proposed constitutional amendment will now be on the November 2026 ballot that would restore the requirement that certain local special taxes receive approval from two-thirds of voters. As part of the agreement, another proposed constitutional amendment, ACA 13, which was to appear on the November ballot, will be removed.  That initiative had it passed would have resulted, for the first time in California, higher vote thresholds to pass initiatives that create strong guardrails on tax increases and which C.A.R. would have worked hard to stop. 

 

Together, these outcomes help protect taxpayer safeguards, defend homeownership opportunities, and keep the California Dream within reach. C.A.R. will continue working with policymakers, community leaders and housing stakeholders to advance solutions that expand pathways to ownership and continue to fight those which contract those opportunities.