THE GADFLY August 2016   In This Issue... Dates & Deadlines Campaign Services Update GAD Institute REALTOR® Party Resources RPAC News NAR’s Economic Outlook     Dates & Deadlines    August 15: Community Outreach Grant Deadline Visit the REALTOR® Action Center to learn more about funding levels and grant regulations.   Diversity Grants – Mobilize your diverse membership to lead your association in to the future. Apply for a grant of up to $5,000. Learn more at www.realtoractioncenter.com/diversity Contact: Hugh Morris at 202-383-1278 Smart Growth Grants – Shape your community into the most attractive, livable, sustainable place it can be. Apply for a grant of up to $15,000. Learn more at www.realtoractioncenter.com/sggrants Contact: Hugh Morris at 202-383-1278 Housing Opportunity Grants – Launch innovative activities to make affordable housing more readily available in your community. Apply for a grant of up to $15,000. Learn more at www.realtoractioncenter.com/hopgrants Contact: Wendy Penn at 202-383-7504    GAD Meetings at the 2016 REALTORS® Conference & Expo Please mark your calendars for the following meetings at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, November 5, 2016. GAD Institute Advisory Group Meeting (closed) – 8:00 am – 9:30 am Government Affairs Directors Meeting – 10:00 am – 11:00 am State and Local GAD Breakouts  - 11:00 am – 12:00 noon GAD Professional Development (Topic TBD) -  12:00 noon – 1:30 pm GAD Reception – TBD (Friday or Saturday evening) For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203.     Campaign Services Update    Need Help Telling Your Trustees the Importance of Supporting REALTOR® Champions? NAR has 6 slots left in 2016 to bring trained consultants to your association to offer the Best Practices for Choosing REALTOR® Champions course…free of charge. This three-hour course trains RPAC Trustees, GA Committees or other leaders who disburse funding to candidates at your association. Get hands-on assistance and receive time-tested templates to help identify and support political candidates who are best qualified to represent the issues important to REALTORS® and real estate. For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203.    State & Local Independent Expenditure Program: Deadlines for Independent Expenditure Requests In an effort to make sure that state and local REALTOR® Associations have the ability to participate in the NAR State and Local IE Program, NAR is providing guidance for deadlines to submit IE applications that contain certain outreach materials. GADs submitting IE applications before these deadlines have the ability to develop the most effective and efficient campaigns to support their chosen candidate. Those GADs that submit applications after the proscribed deadlines will be limited in what tools and resources they can use as part of their outreach plan. The schedule is based on one of two dates: The date when early voting begins in your state OR Election Day, whichever comes first. The outreach schedule calls for: If your campaign plan requires DIRECT MAIL, your application should be submitted 5 WEEKS before early voting or Election Day, whichever comes first. If your campaign plan requires TV, RADIO, or PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS, your application should be submitted 4 WEEKS before early voting or Election Day, whichever comes first. If your campaign plan requires DIGITAL, SOCIAL MEDIA OR WEB ADVERTISEMENT, your application should be submitted 3 WEEKS before early voting or Election Day, whichever comes first. If your campaign plan requires PHONE CALLING (LIVE OR ROBO), your application should be submitted 2 WEEKS before early voting or Election Day, whichever comes first. NAR’s Campaign Services staff has created a spreadsheet that shows the early voting date for every state that allows for early voting and the corresponding dates based on the outreach deadlines described above. If you see an incorrect date listed for your states early voting, please let us know. Please note that we will make every effort to help you build the best campaign possible, but the suggested dates reflect the time necessary to build the specific outreach in the most efficient manner. If you have any additional questions, please contact Mitchell Norton at mnorton@realtors.org.    State & Local IE Program: IE Allocation Report and September 30, 2016 Deadline The NAR State and Local IE Program provides funding for state and local association to engage in independent expenditure campaigns for candidates. In addition to the funding provided by NAR, contributions made to the NAR Corporate Ally Program are added to the state and local IE allocated amounts. As of July 31, 2016, there are still many states that have not used available funds to participate in IE activity. Download the July 2016 NAR State and Local IE Allocation Chart, with updated funding totals. Please note: The “Approved Expenditure” column refers to the total of IE activity approved for your state. It does not reflect actual expenditures, but if you have any questions regarding your actual expenditures, please contact NAR Campaign Services Staff. Also, GADs are reminded that, as specified by the NAR State and Local IE Program Policies and Procedures, any of the 46 states that have elections this year (not including LA, MS, NJ or VA) that have not applied for IE funds or confirmed with NAR staff their need to use IE funds by September 30, 2016 will give up their remaining IE allocated funds for use in other elections. If your association knows that there may be a need for IE funding after the September 30 deadline, but will not be in a position to make an application before then, please contact to NAR staff to reserve those funds. Likewise, if you know that your state will NOT be using the state or local IE allocation this year, please let NAR know as soon as possible so that those funds can be used for other REALTOR® Champions. For questions about submitting an IE application, please contact Mitchell Norton or Julienne Uhlich. Questions regarding you states IE allocation should be directed to Gerry Allen.     GAD Institute    See you Next Year for the 2017 GAD Institute Please mark your calendars and plan your budgets accordingly for July 11 – 14, 2017 at the Hilton West Palm Beach.  Room rates are $179 and the registration fee for the Institute is $500 (early registration), $550 (late registration). For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203.    Still Time to Complete the 2016 Institute Evaluation Form A big “thank you” goes to those who were able to attend the GAD Institute last month!  We had a record number of attendees—219—join us in Nashville.  If you have not yet filled out the GAD Institute evaluation, we want to hear from you (even if you did NOT attend).  The GAD Advisory Group’s goal is to continually improve the professional development offered to GADs (and those in related areas).  If you provide your name upon completion, you will be entered to receive a $50 gift card.  Deadline for providing your feedback is Thursday, August 11—one week from today.  So hurry and fill out the evaluation form! For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203.    Looking for the Power Points Shown at the 2016 GAD Institute? Please check the website for speaker names, presentations, handouts and other information regarding the 2016 GAD Institute. For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203.    Need Help Telling Your Trustees the Importance of Supporting REALTOR® Champions? NAR has 6 slots left in 2016 to bring trained consultants to your association to offer the Best Practices for Choosing REALTOR® Champions course…free of charge. This three-hour course trains RPAC Trustees, GA Committees or other leaders who disburse funding to candidates at your association. Get hands-on assistance and receive time-tested templates to help identify and support political candidates who are best qualified to represent the issues important to REALTORS® and real estate. For more information, contact Kyle Lambert London at 202-383-1203.     REALTOR® Party Resources    ICYMI: Housing For All Symposium Materials Available Online The NAR Housing For All symposium was held July 18-19, in Washington, DC, bringing together NAR and the affordable housing community to address homelessness and housing affordability. Materials from the symposium including session video recordings and speakers’ presentations are now available online. For more information, please contact Joe Molinaro at 202-383-1175 or Wendy Penn at 202-383-7504.    How is Your State Tracking for President’s Cup? The year is more than half over. Are you halfway to fulfilling the eight goals—four RPAC and four advocacy—for the 2016 President’s Cup? Review the report to see what your state has completed. The deadline for these goals is Friday, December 16, 2016. For questions about RPAC goals or totals, contact Kanoa Naehu at 202-383-7509, or contact Erin Murphy at 202-383-1079 with questions about your advocacy goals.    Is it Time to Make Your Community More Walkable? Demand for walkable communities is on the upswing. People of all ages and lifestyles are recognizing the benefits and enhanced quality of life of being within walking distance to transit and destinations of choice such as shops, restaurants, schools, parks and work. REALTORS® need to be aware of this trend and how it will affect them. Get the details at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in November on what makes a community walkable; the demand for walkable communities; their impact on real estate; Walk Scores and MLS; and one community’s quest to become more walkable. For more information, contact Holly Moskerintz at 202-383-1157.     RPAC News    2016 President’s Circle Update President’s Circle has launched its fourth and final round of the year. There will be no additional targets in 2016. During this round, President’s Circle members may invest as little as $500 or up to the full $2,000 in any of the REALTOR® Champions targets. The full $2,000 investment is due by September 30, 2016, but it is important to collect funds as soon as possible so they may be of the most benefit to our candidates’ campaigns. Please encourage your members not to wait until September 30 to complete their commitment.  For more information, contact Kelly O’Donnell at 202-383-7510 or Maggie FitzGerald at 202-383-1078. Current PC Roster 2016 President’s Circle FAQs    RPAC Fundraising Webinar Recording Available  Check out our newest webinar for the latest data on RPAC’s impact on issues that affect our affiliate members as well as tips for using the data to enhance your fundraising efforts. Gary J. Reggish, 2016 RPAC Fundraising Liaison, and Danielle Hale, Managing Director of Housing Research, provide the information you need to effectively target affiliate members. For more information, contact Liz Demorest at 202-383-1030.    RPAC Events at 2016 REALTORS® Conference & Expo Mark your calendars now for two exciting RPAC events during our Annual Meeting! NAR After Dark, NAR’s Official Hall & Oates After Party, will be held Friday, November 4 at the Orange County Convention Center. Enjoy music, dancing and the opportunity to bid on acclaimed artwork of past REALTOR® Conference & Expos. Tickets for NAR After Dark are$25 in advance or $35 at the door. To add tickets to their registration, members can call our registrar at 800-650-6893. Please encourage your members to join the fun! The RPAC Major Investor Reception will be held Saturday, November 5 from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. at i-Drive 360, Orlando’s newest entertainment destination and home to a 400 foot observation wheel. With a fun block-party vibe, guests will enjoy the picturesque courtyard, Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, a sea life aquarium, and of course the observation wheel! For more information, please contact Beth Brittingham.     NAR’s Economic Outlook   Highlights: 2016 NAR Commercial Member Profile – Did you know there are more commercial members than ever this year? Watch the highlights of the latest Commercial Member Profile in this 2 minute video infographic. 2016 Commercial Member Profile – Read the full report here. June Contract Signings on Track with Small Gain - NAR’s Chief Economist talks about June pending home sales, foot traffic, prices, buyer interest and the effect of inventory levels on home sales. Existing-Home Sales Up Again in June - Boosted by increased sales to first-time buyers, existing-home sales continued to rise in June, up for the fourth consecutive month. Affordability, Student Debt Delay Home Buying - Roughly three-quarters of surveyed households think now is a good time to buy a home, but student debt and high prices are keeping many from buying.

Message from the GAD Chair Mark J. Quarry GAD Chair Cincinnati Area Board OF REALTORS® Greetings GAD Nation and Friends!  The 2016 GAD Institute in Nashville was amazing.  It’s always great to be together again but was especially exciting to welcome the slightly more than 50 first-time attendees. We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Tennessee Association of REALTORS®, in particular Chris Sexton, the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS®, the Greater Chattanooga Association of REALTORS®, the Knoxville Association of REALTORS®, the Memphis Area Association of REALTORS® and the Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS® for their hospitality and making us feel so welcome in Music City! I also want to extend a special note of thanks and gratitude to Jenny Reese for her outstanding leadership this past year as GAD Chair and her tireless work in making the 2016 GAD Institute the huge success it was. The GAD Institutes are our premier opportunity for extensive personal, professional and NAR/REALTOR® Party development, knowledge and skills.  Along with networking opportunities, the GAD Institutes give us the tools and experience to take back to our own associations and deliver at a very high level of advocacy for our members and their clients. The GAD Advisory Group plans content for each GAD Institute.  Some of you expressed interest in Nashville to be considered for appointment to the GAD Advisory Group.  Anyone interested in being considered for the GAD Advisory Group, please send an email sharing your background/experience and what you could bring to the GAD AG to Kyle Lambert London. If you have a suggestion or an idea that you think could benefit GAD Nation in how we do our jobs, interact with NAR, etc. please email Kyle Lambert London or me at MQuarry@cabr.org. Have a great rest of the summer.  I look forward to working with each of you in the year ahead! Follow the REALTOR® Action Center! GAD Directory  SAVE THE DATE REALTORS® Conference and Expo November 4-7, 2016 Orlando, Florida 2017 GAD Institute July 11-14, 2017 West Palm Beach, Florida