Word of the Week
Point of Order – A member’s statement to the presiding officer that the chamber (or committee) is taking action contrary to the rules or precedents, and a demand that they be enforced.
NAR Thanks President Biden for Addressing Housing Supply in State of the Union
On Thursday night, President Joe Biden announced a number of housing initiatives in the State of the Union address (SOTU), calling for a $10,000 tax credit for both first-time homebuyers and people who sell their starter homes; the construction and renovation of more than 2 million additional homes, lower closing costs and cost reductions for renters.
NAR first sounded the alarm on the housing supply issue with original research showing a nationwide shortage of 5.5 million affordable housing units, and commends the commitment to an all-of-government approach to solve this problem.
Read NAR President Kevin Sears’ statement on the topic here…
ICYMI: New FPC Webinar Recording
On February 27, the NAR Advocacy team hosted a webinar welcoming our new FPCs and reviewing the nuts and bolts of the role. Joe Harris, NAR’s Vice President of Government Advocacy, gave an update on current issues we’re facing on Capitol Hill and what to expect with Hill visits this year during the REALTOR Legislative Meetings (RLM). It was an important webinar to review the schedule for FPCs around the conference and more broadly, ways FPCs can connect with their members of Congress – both online and offline. Together with our partners at the Congressional Management Foundation, we discussed the Complete Citizen-Advocate’s Toolkit: 15 tools available to every grassroots advocate. You can watch the webinar recording here.
Register for 2024 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings
Registration has opened for the 2024 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings May 4-9 in Washington, D.C. Please register ASAP because the FPC room block and other housing fills up quickly. Note that the FPC room block will again be located at the Grand Hyatt. Full details can be found on the event website. Here are some important things to know this year.
**PLEASE PLAN TO ARRIVE IN WASHINGTON SATURDAY MAY 4.**
1. May 5 – The FPC Lobbyist Salons, FPC Advocacy Academy, FPC Roundtable and The Advocacy Scoop will all take place starting at 9am on Sunday. PLEASE FLY IN SATURDAY, MAY 4.
2. May 6 – General Session
3. May 7 – Hill Visits
- FPC 50th Anniversary Celebration will take place on Tuesday night, May 7, at 6:30pm, where NAR will honor all FPCs who have served in the program over the past 50 years. Members of Congress & their staff will be invited to join. Please watch for a Save the Date coming soon.
- The Expo will be open 10:00am-5:00pm, May 6-7
4. May 8 – Regional Caucuses
5. May 9 – Board of Directors
FPC Travel Stipend for RLM
Every year, Federal Political Coordinators are afforded a $1000 stipend to defray travel costs to the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings. Please save your hotel and airfare receipts. You will submit them to your state Government Affairs Director and be reimbursed directly by your state. If you have any questions, please reach out to Victoria Givens at vgivens@nar.realtor.
2024 NAR Real Estate Forecast Summit
On March 7, NAR held a virtual economic and real estate summit that provided an outlook on the changing commercial real estate market. Watch the VIDEO here.
1Huddle FPC Trivia Winner: Leah Caro!
This week, many of your colleagues participated on the Citizens Advocate Webinar and 1Huddle Trivia game based on the presentation. They played our FPC Onboarding game, our Realtor® Party Trivia and others. The #1 winner of those games was Leah Caro, FPC to New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman. She will be able to spend $50 at the REALTOR Party Store on any item she wishes. Congratulations Leah! Please contact Victoria Givens to place your order. (vgivens@nar.realtor).
VIDEO: Advancing Advocacy with Shannon McGahn
As the 2024 election cycle gears up, please be sure to watch this video from Shannon McGahn, NAR’s Chief Advocacy Officer, on the important, non-partisan advocacy work we’re doing in Washington and in statehouses across the country to build strong communities, increase access to homeownership, and protect private property rights.
Super Tuesday RPAC Victories
On Super Tuesday, RPAC supported candidates had a great night. On March 5th, 115 Congressional seats were up for election in Arkansas, Alabama, California, North Carolina and Texas. RPAC supported candidates in 103 of these 115 races. Only two RPAC supported candidates will not advance from the primary to the general. That’s an impressive result. RPAC also engaged in 23 Opportunity Races to help some of the most ardent supporters of real estate issues facing competitive races. While many of the races are still being counted in California, it appears that all 7 of the Opportunity Race supported candidates will move forward from the primary into the general election. In Texas, RPAC engaged in 13 Opportunity Races: 11 of the candidates supported with an Opportunity Race won outright and two more will advance to a May 28th Run-off election. In North Carolina, RPAC was victorious in two of the three Opportunity Races that we executed. More details to come in the next NAR Advocacy Scoop.
Instant Reaction by NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun: Job Growth
The latest jobs figures displayed a mixed picture. Another solid 275,000 net new payroll jobs were added in February. There are 5.5 million more jobs now compared to the pre-COVID record high in early 2020. However, the unemployment rate went up to 3.9% because a different measurement of jobs from a household survey (rather than a company survey) showed 184,000 fewer workers. Read More from Lawrence…
FPC Meritorious Service Award Deadline Next Week
We have begun accepting nominations for the 2024 FPC Meritorious Service Award. Each year, NAR recognizes two outstanding FPCs for their exceptional service with this esteemed award. These recipients are the best of the best of our grassroots advocates, those who truly believe in and advocate on behalf of the REALTOR® Party. Recipients meet a rigorous set of criteria that set them apart. To see a list of former MSA award winners and criteria for receiving the award click here. The Meritorious Service Award nomination form can be accessed on the MSA Award page through the Realtor® Party website. The deadline for nominating a deserving FPC is March 18, 2024. For more information about the MSA award and process, please contact Victoria Givens at vgivens@realtors.org.
Existing Home Sales Rose 3.1% in January
According to the latest numbers from NAR, existing-home sales expanded 3.1% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million. Sales declined 1.7% from the prior year. Read more…
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