Oregon REALTORS® Pass Ballot Measure 79 and Stop Unfair, Double Taxes

The 2012 election cycle resulted in a resounding victory for 12,000-member Oregon Association of REALTORS^® as voters supported the passage of Ballot Measure 79 to prohibit real estate transfer taxes. The vote was the culmination of a two-year campaign with NAR that began by collecting 164,000 signatures to qualify the issue for the ballot. Despite a difficult political atmosphere, research showed a path to victory through a strong education campaign. In the end, Measure 79 passed with 59 percent of the vote and was supported in 35 out of 36 counties throughout the state. This impressive victory featured a strong REALTOR^® mobilization effort and a targeted campaign that personalized the messages necessary to illustrate the negative impact a real estate transfer tax would have on homeowners.

• Read about the Oregon Association’s successful campaign to ban transfer taxes (102K PDF)