Summer Recess, Opportunity Zones, By The Numbers, Success Stories, and More View e-mail in browser August 8, 2019 REALTOR® Advocacy Continues During Summer Recess August in the Nation’s Capital means it’s time for Congress to take its traditional “summer recess.” But for REALTORS®, summer recess represents an important opportunity to directly engage in-district with members of Congress who look to us as the experts on issues that impact the real estate industry and private property rights. READ MORE REALTOR® Advocacy Continues During Summer Recess August in the Nation’s Capital means it’s time for Congress to take its traditional “summer recess.” But for REALTORS®, summer recess represents an important opportunity to directly engage in-district with members of Congress who look to us as the experts on issues that impact the real estate industry and private property rights. READ MORE By The Numbers 8,000 Number of Opportunity Zones throughout the U.S. created to drive economic growth through long-term investments in economically disadvantaged communities. REALTORS Property Resource® (RPR), a nationwide data resource and a wholly-owned subsidiary of NAR, has added a powerful new data layer that will allow REALTORS® to analyze and search for properties within Qualifed Opportunity Zones throughout the U.S. NAR's newest community planning grant helps associations assist their communities make the most of Opportunity Zones. LEARN MORE >1M Number of abandon homes in former industrial hubs from the East Coast to the Midwest. Learn more about the value of reducing vacancy and how formerly worthless properties are being turned into home in the latest Issue of On Common Ground magazine. LEARN MORE $10,500 Amount of money that GADs donated to Project Connect as part of the GADs Give Back campaign during the 2019 GAD Institute. Project Connect is the only program in the Greater Cincinnati area exclusively serving children experiencing homelessness. Through a collection of stuffed hygiene bags and a GoFundMe page, the GADs collected hundreds of needed hygiene products and raised $10,500. LEARN 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 on REALTORParty.realtor. Wisconsin REALTORS® Urge State Senate to ‘Hold the Line’ on Property Taxes With a full-on campaign called ‘Hold the Line on Property Taxes,’ the Wisconsin REALTORS® organized a powerful response to the governor’s plan to lift a freeze on municipal and country property taxes. An Issues Mobilization grant helped them convince the state senate that the move lacked tax-payer support. READ More New Jersey REALTORS® Combat Last-Minute Tax Threats to Property- and Business-Owners In a last-minute scramble to balance the state budget last year, New Jersey lawmakers set their sights on two real estate tax-targets that propelled the state REALTOR® Association into action: seasonal rental properties, and homes valued at more than $1 million. Calls for action got the message out to REALTORS®, who made their feelings known to their elected officials. READ More Texas REALTORS® Achieve Tax Reform for Texas Property Owners In Texas, where there’s no state income tax or a state-levied property tax, it’s the tax bills from your county, your municipality, your school district, and various other special districts that’ll get you. Texas REALTORS® have been battling the ‘Hidden Property Tax’ inherent in the system for years, and this summer, with a boost from a sweeping Issues Mobilization campaign, the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act was signed into law. READ More Resources & Opportunities Voice for Real Estate: August 5, 2019 The REALTOR® profile is getting larger on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, foreign purchases of U.S. homes dropped significantly in the last 12 months, and young real estate professionals are getting soaked for a good cause. Hear these stories and more in our show for the week of Aug. 5, 2019. LEARN MORE NAR Wins 2019 Sustainability Award from Business Intelligence Group NAR was recognized by the Business Intelligence Group as a global leader in sustainability promotion. The annual Sustainability Awards honor organizations that have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice, commending NAR for the work it’s done since implementing an association-wide Sustainability Program in 2017. LEARN MORE 2019 REALTOR® Party Resource Guide Check out the 2019 REALTOR® Party Association Resource Guide to learn about resources for community outreach, candidate and issue campaigns, RPAC and political fundraising; member and consumer mobilization; and much more. Also, review the programs and resources that qualify for the new Vote, Act and Invest Core Standards’ requirements. DOWNLOAD Join the REALTOR® Party Online Are you posting, liking, tweeting or pinning? So is the REALTOR® Party.  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram to get the latest news, information and resources.

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 September 12, 2019. If you missed a previous edition check out the REALTOR® Party News Archive. Headquarters: 430 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 DC Office: 500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-2020 | 1-800-874-6500