Nearly 9,000 REALTORS® from across the nation, including more than 300 from Texas, were in the nation's capital last week for NAR's REALTORS® Legislative Meetings. Following are a few highlighted action items from the NAR Board of Directors meeting for your reference:
Marvin Jolly was elected as Region 10 Regional Vice President for 2024. Texas REALTORS®-endorsed, Kevin Brown from California was elected as the 2024 First Vice President of NAR. See the full lineup of elected leaders for 2024. As an additional note, former Texas REALTORS® Chairman Brooke Hunt of Flower Mound will be the 2024 NAR Member Engagement Liaison.
The Board of Directors approved the 2024 budget proposal for NAR’s Operating, Advocacy, and Consumer Advertising Campaign program. This included a dues increase of $6. The 2024 annual dues amount will be $156 per member; that does not include the $45 per member annual assessment for the “That’s Who We R” consumer advertising campaign. NAR cited an expected 15% membership decline over the next two or three years, as well as cost increases that have been as high as 30% for some meetings and travel-based programs. The final proposal did not include and automatic dues adjustment tied to CPI in future years.
The board approved two Diversity Committee recommendations that will make it a requirement for future Board of Directors members to complete the At Home with Diversity, Bias Override: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing, and Fairhaven training. 2024 directors must complete the courses as a performance expectation by May 1, 2024. Beginning with the 2025 Board of Directors, completion of the three training programs will be a qualification requirement.
New-applicants for membership will be required to complete two hours of fair housing training and existing members will be required to complete two hours every three years as a condition of membership. At Home with Diversity and Bias Override satisfy the course requirements, and Fairhaven will be updated to meet the two-hour requirement and serve as a no-cost option.
The board approved a policy that NAR opposes the sale, exchange and use of trigger leads for marketing of a mortgage loan. Trigger leads are a marketing tool where competing lenders and mortgage brokers buy leads from the credit reporting agencies after a consumer has applied for a mortgage loan and a hard credit pull is executed. Consumers may receive dozens of calls, texts, and emails from competing lenders, some of which may be inaccurate or fraudulent. Consumers often don’t know how to opt out and may believe their current lender, mortgage broker, or real estate agent has sold their information. Trigger leads may violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumer privacy laws, Federal Trade Commission Act Sec. 5: Unfair or Deceptive Acts and Practices and the National Do Not Call Registry.
The board approved a recommendation that NAR support policies, regulations and programs that enhance assumable mortgage products for federally insured loan programs (FHA, VA, USDA) and the government-sponsored enterprises.
The board approved a recommendation to support tax policy that provides a reduced capital gains tax rate to existing owners (as of the date of enactment) of qualified one- to four-unit rental properties who sell to an owner-occupant. The incentive would have the effect of reducing prices, since investors wouldn’t have to charge as much to yield the same return, and increasing the inventory of available homes for first-time buyers.
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