Let Our Voices Be Heard on Tax Reform, Success Stories, and More
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December 14, 2017
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The Fight Continues, Let Your Voice Be Heard on Tax Reform
This is a critical week for tax reform and, with our new Call for Action, we need you to reach out to your member of Congress. Thanks to your engagement, REALTORS® have already helped positively influence tax reform in some key areas.  BUT OUR WORK IS NOT DONE. We have an opportunity to influence Congress to help make the tax reform bill more favorable to homeowners and consumers.  Take Action Today!
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By The Numbers
 
24.13%
The percentage of members (or 213,580 people) who took action on the Reform Our Tax Code AND Protect Middle Class Homeowners national call for action. Fifty states and territoiries hit 20% or more participation, making it the highest participation rate in NAR history! It’s not too late to take action on tax reform. REALTORS® should continue to let their voices be heard by partipating in NAR’s current national call for action today. We can still try to influence Congress to help make the tax reform bill more favorable to homeowners and consumers.
TAKE ACTION
 
51
The number of states and the District of Columbia that visitors can see how homeowners will be impacted by the Tax Reform Bill. Check out this NAR resource. Simply select your state from the dropdown menu to view state-by-state data on tax deductions, Capital Gains exemptions and the impact on housing prices from the 2017 tax reform framework.
READ MoRE
 
12/29
The launch date of the newly redesigned and renamed REALTORParty.com. Replacing the REALTOR® Action Center website, REALTORParty.com will be a holistic website that provides advocacy materials for state and local REALTOR® Association staff, and facilitates two-way opportunities to engage individual REALTORS® and associations in the REALTOR® Party. 
READ MoRE
 
The REALTOR® Party At Work
 
Highlighted here are a few of the many REALTOR® Party success stories across the nation. These and others are cataloged in the Success Stories section of the REALTOR® Action Center.
 
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Data from Traverse REALTORS® Proves Invaluable to Downtown Development Planning for Affordable Housing
In Traverse City, Michigan’s desirable downtown neighborhoods, affordable housing is scarce, and the land base is already largely built.  With a Smart Growth Action Grant, the Traverse Area Association of REALTORS® engaged a consulting firm to create a 3D economic model demonstrating the potential tax revenue from various development configurations to assist developers and the City Commission in making good decisions for the community.
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Summit County REALTORS® Use Education to Prevent Wildfires & Costly Legislative Mandates
Wildfires are a serious threat to properties in Summit County, Colorado, and so are expensive mitigation mandates that the state legislature had been poised to impose on property owners.  With a REALTOR® Party Game Changer Grant, the Summit Association of REALTORS® showed that education could be just as effective in protecting the community from fire and onerous expense.
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Greater Lansing REALTORS® Help Elect a City Council Candidate for Much-Needed Change
Using a REALTOR® Party Independent Expenditure Grant, the Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS® ran an independent expenditure campaign for Aaron Stephens for City Council. The association's vetting process determined that the candidate, a senior at Michigan State University, will help bring positive change to stagnant policies.
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Resources & Opportunities
 
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Voice for Real Estate: REALTORS® On Why They're Opposing Tax Reform
Cynthia Carley of Lake Arrowhead Luxury Properties in Blue Jay, Calif., was one of dozens of politically involved REALTORS® who came to Washington for NAR's fly-in as House and Senate lawmakers began taking up sweeping  legislation to reform the federal tax code. "Everyone should recalculate their own taxes baed on the provisions in tax reform bills in Congress," Carley said. "I did that, and I'm going to pay $7,320 more in taxes under tax reform." Carley and others talk about why they came to Washington and what they told their members of Congress in the latest Voice for Real Estate news video from NAR.
WATCH
 
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Bipartisan Praise for REALTOR® Role in Tax, Other Debates
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Senate Banking Committee member Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) joined NAR at its Washington offices this week to talk about tax reform, mortgage finance reform, and other issues. The two shared one important point of agreement: REALTORS® are playing a crucial role in the making of federal policies that affect real estate by providing the kind of realistic and useful input lawmakers need. Read the write-up of NAR housing summit.
REAd MORE
 
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On Common Ground, Winter 2018: The New Neighborhood Now Available
There is currently a big focus in both the private and public sectors on re-examining and re-doing existing buildings and communities. New shopping malls are not being built — but underperforming malls are being redeveloped into mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods. To meet the demand for affordable homes in existing neighborhoods, accessory dwelling units are being added into the mix of housing options. Cities are retrofitting their streets to meet growth by making them more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly and contributing to environmental sustainability. The new neighborhood — whether a community newly constructed or an older place reimagined — will exhibit many of these traits: walkability, a mix of uses and housing types, resource conservation, repurposing of assets and making room for everyone.
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2018 REALTOR® Party Resource Guide
Check out the 2018 REALTOR® Party Association Resource Guide on the REALTOR® Action Center website to learn more about community outreach, campaign services, RPAC and political fundraising and grassroots grant, program, education opportunities and much more. Also, review what programs and resources qualify for the new Vote, Act and Invest Core Standards’ requirements.
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Join the REALTOR® Party Online
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Get 10% off when you complete your "Little Book" Series - no code needed! These booklets are must-haves for all real estate professionals and contain input from more than 1,500 NAR members!
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Send us examples of how your association put NAR’s REALTOR® Party resources to work to implement a successful advocacy or community outreach program. Email your stories to: realtorparty@realtors.org

See more than 300 stories documenting how REALTOR® associations around the country put REALTOR Party Resources to work at the REALTOR® Party Success Stories page. This newsletter replaces the NAR Weekly Report for this week and the second week of every month. The REALTOR® Party News will publish next on December 14, 2017. If you missed a previous edition check out the REALTOR® Party News Archive.

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