The 5,000-member Akron Cleveland Association of REALTORS® (ACAR) had taken just about enough. When troubling and overly restrictive rental housing proposals arose in two of this association’s communities, the ACAR took on City Hall. By tapping into NAR’s Land Use Initiative, ACAR was able to get a legal review of the proposed ordinances to help make convincing arguments to city leaders in both cases. The proposal was tabled in one jurisdiction and referred back to committee in the other.
Rogue Valley Association (OR) Turns to Radio to Voice Housing Opportunities
The Rogue Valley Association of REALTORS® in southwestern Oregon had already raised more than $100,000 for homebuyer-assistance grants. Now it needed a way to get the word out. Radio was the answer! An NAR Housing Opportunity Grant enabled the 1,000-member association to sponsor a popular local radio show and tell listeners about area housing opportunities—many of them provided by the charitable giving of their own members.
Hopkinsville (KY) REALTORS® Introduce Military Families to Housing Opportunities in Their Small Town
With the help of a Housing Opportunity Grant, the 64-member Hopkinsville Christian & Todd County Association of REALTORS® hosted a fun-filled Military Appreciation Picnic to showcase the housing opportunities in their small town.
NAR Provides Testimony on Housing Finance Reform
NAR’s president elect Vince Malta provided congressional testimony on housing finance reform to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Wednesday, March 27.
Realtor® Leaders Meet with Secretary Carson, Pass Sweeping New Fair Housing Action Plan
Leadership from the National Association of Realtors® met with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and other senior Department officials on Wednesday in Washington to discuss fair housing issues just hours after unanimously passing a new plan to tackle the issue.
Bias Override: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing
NAR and the Perception Institute have teamed up to create a curriculum that will help REALTORS® recognize unconscious biases. The online video explains how our brains’ automatic, instant association of stereotypes with particular groups can cause us to treat those who are different from us unfairly, despite our best intentions and often without our conscious awareness, and applies these concepts to the everyday work of REALTORS®, and offers strategies to override bias in order to convey respect, ensure fairness, and improve business relationships.
Huntsville Area REALTORS® Deflect Steep Increase in Impact Fees on New Housing Construction
REALTOR® members responded in force to a Call for Action letting elected officials in Madison, Ala., know that raising impact fees on new developments would price their middle-class clients out of the housing market. The Mayor and City Council heard them loud and clear, and are finding other revenue sources to support city services.
Webinar: Housing Need in Rural America
In rural America, more and more residents are struggling to find a safe, affordable place to live. Challenges include affordability, lack of funding to build new units; zoning that restricts the housing supply; limited access to credit; a dearth of rental options, and now, the impact of COVID-19. Join us for a discussion on these challenges as well as some of the ways – federal, state, local, and Realtor Party Programs – are addressing these challenges. Speakers include staff from the Housing Assistance Council and two local Realtor® Associations. Listen to the webinar Speakers’ Presentation
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In rural America, more and more residents are struggling to find a safe, affordable place to live. Challenges include affordability, lack of funding to build new units; zoning that restricts the housing supply; limited access to credit; a dearth of rental options, and now, the impact of COVID-19.
REALTORS® Launch Waterbury (CT) “Front Porch Day” with Housing Opportunity Grant
The city of Waterbury, Conn. had been facing a growing epidemic of neighborhood blight for decades. Some properties had been abandoned; others harbored criminal activity. Porches, lawns, and sidewalks along entire streets had fallen into disrepair. Leaders of the 650-member Greater Waterbury Board of REALTORS® met with the mayor and launched a neighborhood stabilization program to do something about it. Funded by a $5,000 Housing Opportunity Grant from NAR, which was doubly matched by the City of Waterbury for a total of $15,000, the first annual Waterbury Citywide Front Porch Day in July 2012 brought together over 300 volunteers to...