Where there are homes in safe areas with access to good education, good transit and other services, that’s where the jobs go. It was this kind of big thinking that led the 2,800-member Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS® (GNAR) to gather a coalition of regional partners in the housing industry last summer, to co-sponsor The Greater Nashville Housing Summit. The July 3 event at GNAR headquarters was the first of its kind, drawing housing experts and policy makers from around the state for a forward-looking “state of the housing market” program. Media relations, both before and after the Summit, were...
Spokane REALTORS® Spur Much-Needed Housing Development with Pro-Growth Candidates
The inventory of available housing stock is at a historic low in Spokane, Washington, and housing prices are seeing double-digit increases. In the midst of the crisis, the Spokane REALTORS® successfully championed a challenger to the mayor’s office, as well as candidates for the City Council to spur much-needed housing development.
Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of REALTORS® Supports REALTOR Champion for Housing
When the REALTOR® Champion running to maintain her seat on the Oklahoma County Commission faced a primary run-off, it looked like an up-hill battle: though Carrie Blumert had the advantage as incumbent, her challenger was a former state senator and statewide candidate who had held a slim lead in the primary; when neither won a majority of votes, the challenger was favored to prevail in the run-off election.
NAR Report Outlines New, Tailored Policies to Address U.S. Housing Affordability Problems
Nationwide housing inventory is lower than it’s been since the National Association of Realtors® began tracking this data in 1982. To continue its work to address a problem that has long plagued American communities and has been worsened by COVID-19, NAR this week released new research arguing that the nation’s affordability crisis will require policymakers to adopt a number of localized solutions. The paper, State and Local Policy Strategies to Advance Housing Affordability, recommends lawmakers pursue solutions through three key avenues: financial policy measures; policies aimed at increasing the supply of housing and zoning; and permitting policy reform.
Denver Metro Association Grows Employer-Assisted Housing Idea from Grant to Class to Program
The 4,500-member Denver Metro Association of REALTORS® (DMAR) realized that Employer-Assisted Housing was a topic that would serve both the membership and the community, so they applied for and received a $5,000 grant from NAR to fund a course in October 2010. Then, they took it to the next step by establishing the Greater Brighton Employer-Assisted Housing program. Today, the program serves this tightknit community northeast of Denver by showing employers who might not have ready cash to offer down-payment assistance that benefits like a day-off for moving, or the loan of a truck, are creative low- or no-cost ways...
Gaston (NC) REALTORS®: Small Association Thinks Big in Putting Housing Opportunity Grant to Work
When the economy crashed in Gaston County, NC, it crashed hard. Unemployment grew and the housing market suffered. As conditions began to improve last year, the 270-member Gaston County Association of REALTORS® decided to help the public understand the opportunities to be had in their recovering market by hosting a housing fair in the town’s brand new convention center. With the help of a $5,000 Housing Opportunity Grant from NAR, they drew nearly 500 people to the April event. Attendees visited booths of industry professionals ranging from lenders and home inspectors to landscapers and cabinet refinishers. The fair was such...
San Diego REALTORS® Open Housing Opportunity Doors for Foreclosure Victims, Minorities and Other Under-served Populations
From veterans and their families, to minority groups, to homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure and are attempting to re-enter the market, the San Diego REALTORS have been there to open doors to housing opportunities.
Haywood REALTORS® Supports Smart Growth and Affordable Housing in Waynesville, NC
Bounded by the Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and a flood plain, sprawl isn’t necessarily an option for the Town of Waynesville, North Carolina; but using a REALTOR® Party Smart Growth Action Grant, the REALTORS® of Haywood County helped to inform its 2020 Comprehensive Land Use Plan by sponsoring a public Visioning Workshop.
St. Louis REALTORS® Channel History, Community to Celebrate Fair Housing Anniversary
In St. Louis, Missouri, REALTORS® have a profound reminder of past prejudicial real estate practices in the Shelley House, the property at the center of the landmark Supreme Court case of Shelley vs. Kraemer, which gave way to the Fair Housing Act 20 years later. In recognition of the 50th anniversary of that breakthrough legislation, St. Louis REALTORS® engaged into local projects benefiting underserved communities with grants from the REALTOR® Party and Missouri REALTORS®.