Planning for opportunity zones
During the 2019 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, NAR hosted a discussion on planning for opportunity zone (OZs) investments.
The focus of the discussion centered around the question of how the REALTOR® community can engage in efforts to ensure OZs are properly planned, implemented and ultimately beneficial for all members in the community. Several recommendations were offered such as understanding the gap of making a real estate deal happen, and how successful markets for Opportunity Zones will be made by norms and models put together at the local level.
The discussion was moderated by NAR's 2019 Chair of State and Local Issues Policy Committee and featured guest speakers Christopher Coes, Vice President, Land Use and Development at Smart Growth America; and Bruce Katz, Founding Director, Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University.
View Planning for Opportunity Zone Investments Discussion
Learn More about Opportunity Zones
2019 NAR LEGISLATIVE MEETINGS
NKAR members take to the Nation’s Capital May 14th – 17th for the 2019 NAR Legislative meetings to show our elected officials Who REALTORS® R, how we benefit consumers and the economy & of course the issues REALTORS® care about. Learn more about what was discussed on the hill here.
More than 1.3 million REALTORS® advocate every day as small business owners and on behalf of the nation’s 75 million property owners.
Below are key issues REALTORS® are following in the 116th Congress. For more details please visit the Political Advocacy page.
Flood Insurance: Long-Term Reauthorization, Meaningful Reform
Authority for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to write insurance expires on May 31, 2019. REALTORS® are working to avoid an NFIP lapse while advocating for a long-term reauthorization including meaningful reforms to strengthen program solvency. Reforms include more accurate flood mapping; aligning insurance rates to risk, providing property risk mitigation resources; and opening the door to private flood insurance.
National Flood Insurance Program
Qualified Opportunity Zones
The Qualified Opportunity Zone program aims to encourage development and job creation in economically distressed communities through tax incentives for investments into these areas. REALTORS® support this program and are active with helping the Treasury Department and the Administration make it a success.
Qualified Opportunity Zones
Qualified Opportunity Zones Primer(link is external)
IRS Qualified Opportunity Zones Frequently Asked Questions(link is external)
Infrastructure: All-encompassing Investments
Infrastructure improvements enhance property values by creating livable communities and business districts. Poorly maintained streets, public transit, and traffic congestion in an area impose extra costs throughout the local economy. REALTORS® support infrastructure policies that reflect a broad community vision, and a level playing field for both highway and public transit funding.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Technology: Data Privacy & Security
Technology has and continues to transform the way consumers buy, sell, rent, and manage homes, while also impacting the way real estate brokerages operate. As technology drives evolution, our approach to data privacy must evolve as well. Effective data privacy legislation must establish uniform standards for businesses and equal protection for consumers while focusing on transparency and customer choice.
Health Insurance: Expanded Access to Association Health Plans
As independent contractors, REALTORS® have long struggled to find and secure affordable health insurance options, with many remaining uninsured. We strongly support the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule expanding access to Association Health Plans. This rule has been successful and is supported in many states, providing high quality, lower cost coverage alternatives to many REALTORS® and their families.
Fannie & Freddie Reform: Access to Credit
Earlier this year, NAR unveiled a comprehensive vision to reform our nation’s housing finance system and ensure that people in Springfield, Mo. have the same rates and access to mortgage products as those in Springfield, Mass. America’s uniqueness of offering a 30-year fixed rate mortgage ensures affordable mortgage credit for middle-income Americans. Government guarantee and oversight of the system stimulates and protects the flow of private capital to homebuyers.
NAR’s Vision for Housing Finance Reform
Federal Taxation
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included many changes that affect homeownership and the real estate industry. As we close the first tax season under the new rules, REALTORS® are working to protect or support the following policies: extending expired Mortgage Debt Cancellation Tax Relief; fixing the marriage penalty on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap; and indexing to inflation the $750,000 cap on mortgage interest deduction and the capital gains exclusion on the sale of a principal residence.
Taxation
Mortgage Debt Cancellation Relief
Mortgage Interest Deduction
Fair Housing
Fair housing is integral to our ability to buy, purchase, lease, and occupy real estate in America, having protected our nation’s essential right to property for more than half a century. Earlier this spring, NAR was pleased to support H.R. 5, the Equality Act, which adds fair housing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
