Kirman, who has more than $26 billion in sales to his name, told Fox News Digital that buyers and sellers "have had enough" of California taxation. He points to Proposition 40 as the trigger. Voter support for the measure has dropped below 50 percent, but Kirman says the threat alone is enough to spook the luxury market.
"We think this proposal is disastrous for California," Kirman said. "It's disastrous for the real estate market."
He argues California already ranks among the highest-tax states in the country, and Proposition 40 is pushing that reputation further. The fallout, he says, goes beyond real estate agents losing commissions. He says the state's top job creators are heading for the exits, taking their businesses and their tax dollars with them.
For high-end sellers, that means a market that hesitates even before a law passes. For the state, it raises a harder question about who sticks around to pay for anything if the people writing the biggest checks keep leaving.