At the Washington State Commercial Association of REALTORS® (WSCAR) Special Membership Meeting on October 22, 2024, the attending members voted unanimously to dissolve WSCAR and transfer its assets to the Commercial Brokers Advocacy Council of Washington (CBAC), a new non-profit organization independent of the National Association of REALTORS® formed in collaboration with the Commercial Brokers Association (CBA).
CBAC will focus on legislative advocacy for Washington commercial brokers, with a more affordable dues structure and a contracted partnership with the Washington REALTORS® legislative team in Olympia, the premier real-estate-brokerage-focused advocacy entity in the state.
In January 2025, we will launch the Commercial Brokers Advocacy Council of Washington (CBAC) in partnership with the Commercial Brokers Association to protect and advocate the interests of commercial brokers in Olympia. CBAC is a new, non-profit organization whose sole purpose is representing your legislative needs and ensuring that commercial real estate brokers have a strong voice in policy decisions.
Why CBAC?
For the better part of 30 years, commercial brokers in Washington entrusted their state legislative advocacy and lobbying needs and representation to WSCAR®, a commercial overlay board that has been part of Washington REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS®. Over the past decade, WSCAR’s membership structure has faced challenges, making it harder to represent the needs of commercial brokers fairly and effectively. WSCAR® dissolved as an entity in December of 2024.
With over 4,000 members, CBA holds the largest concentration of commercial real estate professionals in the state. By partnering with the former members of WSCAR® and creating CBAC, which will be the state’s largest commercial brokerage advocacy organization, we will unify efforts and provide powerful advocacy tailored specifically to your needs.
CBAC'S PURPOSE:
The purpose of CBAC is to advocate for commercial brokers and promote the betterment of the commercial real estate industry. CBAC’s focus includes:
Advocacy: Advocating for commercial real estate brokers and their clients, while actively shaping and enhancing the future of the commercial real estate industry and its associated regulatory environment. This includes communicating, informing, and educating its members and the industry, and as appropriate, the public at large, on important legislative matters, policies, taxes, and rules as it relates to commercial real estate.
Government Relations: Engaging in government relations advocacy for policies that benefit the industry, including lobbying to promote the betterment of the commercial real estate industry.
Other Activities: Engaging in any other lawful activity that benefits and supports the commercial real estate industry.
MEMBERSHIP:
Membership in CBAC Washington is open to individuals and entities actively engaged in, or supporting, the commercial real estate industry within the State of Washington. This includes, but is not limited to:
Individual Broker Members
Licensed real estate brokers, agents, and property managers specializing in Commercial properties.
Affiliate Membership
Real estate developers and investors involved in commercial projects.
Architects, engineers, and contractors providing services to the commercial real estate sector.
Financial institutions, lenders, and mortgage brokers offering commercial real estate financing.
Legal professionals specializing in commercial real estate transactions and litigation.
Service providers, including appraisers, inspectors, and environmental consultants, supporting commercial real estate operations.
Trade associations, chambers of commerce, and other organizations advocating for the commercial real estate industry.
MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES:
Automatic Broker Membership: All licensed individuals who are current with their dues as Washington state members and in good standing with Commercial Brokers Association (CBA) are automatically granted membership in CBAC Washington. These members have voting rights and enjoy all rights, privileges, and responsibilities associated with membership in CBAC.
Individual Broker Membership: Open to Washington licensed broker professionals who are actively practicing or supporting commercial real estate but are not members of CBA. These members have voting rights and enjoy all rights, privileges, and responsibilities associated with membership in CBAC.
Affiliate Membership: Open to individuals or entities that support the commercial real estate industry but do not qualify for individual or automatic membership. Affiliates do not have voting privileges.
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP:
All automatic members will be processed separately and will not be required to submit an application for membership. CBAC staff will coordinate with CBA to verify the membership status of individuals.
All non-automatic prospective individual members must submit a completed membership application, demonstrating their involvement in or support for the commercial real estate industry. Applications will be reviewed and processed by CBAC staff. All WSCAR members who ARE NOT currently CBA members will receive an email in the coming weeks with a CBAC application and instructions for applying.
CBAC MEMBERSHIP DUES:
Automatic Members’ dues of $5 per month will be paid through the Commercial Brokers Association as a portion of your monthly CBA membership dues.
Non-CBA Individual Broker Members will pay annual CBAC dues of $60. The dues structure for Affiliate CBAC Members will be announced soon.
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERS:
All members in good standing have the right to vote in CBAC elections, hold office, and participate in all activities and benefits offered by CBAC. Members are expected to uphold the mission and values of CBAC, comply with its bylaws, and actively support its initiatives and programs.
NEXT STEPS FOR CURRENT WSCAR® MEMBERS
Realtor® Members
Your firm’s Designated REALTOR® must select a new local board for 2025 to maintain REALTOR® membership.
Secondary Members
No action is required.
Institute Affiliate Members
Contact the organization where you obtained your designation and update your board of choice from WSCAR® to another local Board of REALTORS® to maintain your designation requirement:
CCIM Institute (CCIM): www.ccim.com
Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM): www.irem.org
Counselors of Real Estate (CRE): www.cre.org
REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI): www.rliland.com
Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS®: www.sior.com
Local Association Directory
Your newly selected local association can help you change your membership, change firms, update contact information, or make any other updates to your record.
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