A Recap of the National Association of Realtors® Legislative Meetings

From May 4th to May 9th, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) hosted its annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

Thousands of Realtor® members and Association staff gathered in our Nation’s Capital to discuss a variety of topics, including pieces of legislation that, if passed, will have tremendous impact on housing and the real estate industry.

Over the course of the week, attendees learned about a few bills that NAR is lobbying Congress for:

The More Homes on the Market Act (H.R. 1321) to decrease the equity penalty and incentivize more long-term owners to sell homes.

The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (S. 657/H.R. 3940) to attract private investment to build and rehabilitate owner-occupied homes.

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (S. 1557/H.R. 3238) to encourage creating and preserving affordable housing.

The Direct Seller and Real Estate Agent Harmonization Act (H.R. 5419) to ensure real estate agents maintain their independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Fair and Equal Housing Act (H.R. 4439) to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under the Fair Housing Act.

In addition to advocating for these bills, NAR is also promoting several tax solutions in Congress, to encourage a more effective and efficient real estate industry. Those are:

Support small business by preserving the 199A qualified business income deduction and keeping taxes on business income lower for independent contractors and pass-through business owners.

Support commercial real estate investment by preserving 1031 like-kind exchanges.

Incentivize homeownership by increasing the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and eliminating the marriage penalty.

NAR also began to promote a new Housing Caucus, encouraging members of Congress to join the caucus in order to increase communication and collaboration on important housing issues amongst members of congress and stakeholders, like NAR.

After NAR communicated all of this to Conference attendees, Federal Political Coordinators (FPCs) led groups of Realtors® to Capitol Hill to meet with their representatives in Congress to discuss these legislative priorities.

The Minnesota delegation was able to meet with each of Minnesota’s Representatives in the House and had productive conversations about the local housing market, and the positive impact these legislative priorities would have on housing and real estate in Minnesota.

This was a successful week in D.C. lobbying Congress to adopt policies that will improve housing and real estate in Minnesota!