LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Making the Case in Washington, DC

At the beginning of this month, Realtors from across the nation gathered in Washington, D.C. Unlike recent years, visits with our Congress members were back on the agenda. Mostly because of Covid restrictions and other security issues, NAR Legislative conferences have been informative but have missed the all-important visits with elected officials on their turf. Much like how the NYSAR Lobby days see a level of success because we flood the capital with Realtors, the Hill was once again filled with housing professionals educating our elected leaders on our issues.

Last year, NAR opted for the creative exercise of dropping a meeting with Congress members and their staff on the Hill and instead invited them to National Stadium to enjoy a hotdog, a beer and individual Realtors talking politics with them. To say the very least, everyone was pleased to see Hill visits return. Led by Legislative Co-Chair Leah Caro, President Carmen Bauman and CEO Lynda Fernandez, a group of HGAR members met with five different Congressmembers and their offices.

NAR had several topics it wanted HGAR and the rest of the Realtor community on the Hill that day to hammer home. Namely, that real estate is 16% of the US’s GDP. In addition to that, addressing housing affordability necessitates increasing the nation’s housing inventory, which is currently 5.5 million units short, representing a $4.4-trillion underinvestment.

Some of our key legislative actions included:

More Homes on the Market Act (H.R. 1321): Raises capital gains exclusion on home sales, adjusting for inflation, to motivate long-term owners to sell.

Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (S. 657, H.R. 3940): Offers tax credits to encourage building and rehabilitating homes in underserved areas.

Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (S. 1557, H.R. 3238): Expands the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to boost affordable housing.

Additional Support:

a)    Preserve the 199A qualified business income deduction.

b)    Maintain 1031 like-kind exchanges.

c)    Raise the SALT deduction cap.

Additionally, promoting fair housing, protecting real estate professionals' independent contractor status, and ensuring veteran access to representation are essential priorities. These efforts aim to stabilize communities, enhance economic growth and ensure equal housing opportunities for all.

We had a meeting with the staff of Reps. Pat Ryan, Adriano Espaillat, Ritchie Torres, Mike Lawler, Jamaal Bowman and Daniel Goldman. With a special shout out to Ritchie Torres, who was aware of our issues before the meeting, and Rep. Lawler for meeting with us in person.

In D.C., many Congress members and their staff genuinely were unaware of what pieces of legislation were out there. Our team from HGAR did a great job of educating our elected officials and even now some members are signing into legislation as we speak.

I will have more to report on as the follow-up from our advocacy efforts continue. In the meantime, the effectiveness of Hill visits is ever-present and a welcome return. Our members from HGAR left feeling empowered and our members in Congress left our meeting feeling better informed. It was a good day had by all and a lot of good trouble made by most.