Going into its 2015 session, the Alabama legislature was facing a serious budget shortfall. Using a significant Issues Mobilization Grant, the Alabama Association of REALTORS® (AAR) was able to keep threats to organized real estate and property rights at bay, but long-term solutions were still nowhere in sight. When the…...
Kansas REALTORS® Use Issues Mobilization to Prevent Local Property Tax Increases
The REALTOR® Party’s Issues Mobilization Grant provides financial assistance to state and local REALTOR® Associations to support effective advocacy campaigns on public policy issues that affect REALTOR® interests. The Kansas Association of REALTORS® is just one example of how an association has used this program to successfully stave off local…...
The Experienced San Fran REALTORS® Defeat Mission Moratorium
The San Francisco Association of REALTORS® sought the support of NAR, its state association and coalition partners as it geared up for its second Issues Mobilization campaign to ensure defeat against a proposed 30-month moratorium on new housing development in the Mission District, where housing inventory is low, and in…...
Everything is Bigger in Texas, Including Efforts to Pass Proposition 1
The Texas Association of REALTORS® pulled all the stops to ensure that Proposition 1 would pass. The ballot measure amended the state constitution, increasing the homestead exemption and banning real estate transfer tax on all real estate sales. The Issues Mobilization Program, targeted outreach and a comprehensive website helped the…...
Pinellas (FL) REALTORS® Draw the Line on Historical Housing Designations
Pinellas County Florida holds the most flood insurance policies in the U.S. When proposed ordinance changes would have made it significantly easier for homes to be designated as “historic” and potentially increased the cost of property insurance, including flood insurance, and property upgrades, the 6,000-member Pinellas REALTOR® Organization (PRO) took…...
Nevada REALTORS® Use Grant and Grassroots Power to Soundly Defeat Proposed Tax on Businesses
The 14,000-member Nevada Association of REALTORS® put an Issues Mobilization Grant from NAR, its own well-honed campaign skills and funds, as well as its significant grassroots power to soundly defeat a massive tax on businesses. The tax would have eliminated jobs, as well as slowed the state economy......
Missouri REALTORS® Use Power of Polling to Stop Tax Threat to Real Estate
For the second year in a row, the Missouri REALTORS® (MR) blocked a deep-pocketed individual from advancing his plan to eliminate the state income tax. The burden for filling the revenue void would likely have fallen on real estate sales and services, which would have hit MR’s 18,000 members square…...
Richmond (VA) REALTORS® Fight for Good Schools – and Win!
In Richmond, VA, REALTORS® have long understood the strong correlation between good schools and home values. Last year, they had to fight for it. The 4,000-member Richmond Association of REALTORS® put a $95,000 Issues Mobilization Grant from NAR to work on a campaign to use a restaurant meals tax on…...