HOME | ABOUT US | CONTACT US
YOUR INTERACTIVE MAGAZINE
REALTOR.ORG/realtormag
.


NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
2004 Annual Report: Benefits of Membership

Advocacy of Issues Important to Your Business and Your Industry

NAR’s Government Affairs Division and Regulatory and Industry Relations Department advocate for the preservation, protection, and promotion of the free enterprise system and the right to own real property. NAR provides a platform for advocacy on behalf of REALTORS® and the public through its legislative and regulatory policies, political and grassroots programs, and field staff. Major governmental and regulatory accomplishments for 2004 include:

  • RESPA Reform. NAR successfully urged the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to withdraw its proposed rule reforming the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) because of its onerous impact to the real estate industry. HUD remains committed to reforming RESPA, a 30-year-old law that was created to protect consumers in the settlement of loans. NAR supports reforms that would keep a level playing field for service providers and put consumers first.
  • Banks in Real Estate. NAR-supported legislation (H.R.111/S.98) was reintroduced in the 108th Congress and contains broad co-sponsorship support in the House and Senate. NAR secured another one-year prohibition, preventing the Department of Treasury from finalizing its rule that would allow banks to offer real estate brokerage and management services. This provision is included in the House Transportation/Treasury Appropriations bill. The Senate appropriation version includes a provision permanently barring banks from engaging in real estate. The two versions of these bills will need to be unified before final passage of a permanent solution.
  • Do-Not-Fax. NAR secured an extension of the do-not-fax rules from Dec. 31, 2004, to June 30, 2005, pending clarification of Federal Communications Commission rules prohibiting the sending of unsolicited advertisements. Until June 30, 2005, practitioners can continue to send faxes, without prior written consent, to those with whom they have established business relationships. NAR is pursuing legislation (H.R.4600/S.2603) to rectify problems created by the FCC’s do-not-fax rules.
  • Farm Credit Rules Regarding Real Estate Management. NAR successfully urged the Farm Credit Administration to deny the application of a Farm Credit System financial institution to provide farm management services. Such an allowance would have permitted rural banking institutions to engage in traditional real estate activities, such as farm, ranch, and residential sales and property management services.
  • Leasehold Improvement. NAR-backed legislation (H.R.4520), signed into law on Oct. 22, 2004, includes a temporary two-year provision that reduces the recovery period for leasehold improvements from 39 years to 15 years.
  • Flood Insurance. NAR-backed legislation (S.2238), signed into law on June 30, 2004, reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program through 2008. It also establishes a pilot program to increase flood insurance premiums for owners of properties that repeatedly flood who refuse government offers of mitigation assistance and directs FEMA and insurance companies to provide flood insurance policyholders with better information about the details of their policies.
  • Flood Map Funding. NAR-backed legislation (S.2537), signed into law on Oct. 18, 2004, provides $200 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to improve and upgrade flood maps to benefit real estate transactions.
  • Multifamily Housing. NAR-backed legislation (S.2712), signed into law on Aug. 9, 2004, expanded the Federal Housing Administration’s multifamily loan guarantee authority from $25 billion to $29 billion to enable Congress to keep critical housing programs operational during FY2004.
  • RPAC. The REALTORS® Political Action Committee raised more than $5.4 million in 2004, surpassing the year’s fund-raising goal of $4.4 million. The RPAC participation rate for 2004 was 41 percent, with more than 400,000 members donating to RPAC. Also, NAR grew membership in its direct giver fund-raising program, the President’s Circle, from 70 members in 2003 to 160 in 2004. President’s Circle members provided direct contributions of $457,000 to REALTOR® Party candidates and national party committees, such as U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), U.S. Rep. Anne Northup (R-Ky.), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).

    RPAC supported a total of 439 candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate this past cycle, 426 of whom won their races, giving RPAC a 97 percent winning record. Overall, 398 of the 407 RPAC-supported candidates in House races won their seats. On the Senate side, 28 of the 32 NAR-supported candidates were elected.
  • REALTORParty Candidates for Congress. NAR spent approximately $1.4 million to fund and successfully manage 31 Opportunity Race programs (NAR's Get-Out-the-Vote campaign) nationwide. Of the 24 general election Opportunity Races, among the most competitive in the nation, NAR-backed candidates won 21. In addition, RPAC spent another $2.8 million in Independent Expenditures, using direct mail, radio, and TV advertising to support six successful candidates for Congress.
  • Public Issue Advocacy Program. NAR’s Public Advocacy program spent $4.9 million of a $5.2 million 2004 budget expenditure on initiatives to generate public support for the Senate campaigns of U.S. Reps. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and for the House campaigns of U.S. Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), and Anne Northup (R-Ky.). The initiatives included direct-mail appeals, television and radio advertisements, print advertising, and e-mail communications, complementing NAR’s RPAC Independent Expenditures and Opportunity Race programs.
  • Issues Mobilization Program. In 2004, NAR provided $225,000 in assistance to eight state and local REALTOR® associations to support their communications and other activities regarding important issues such as impact fees, property taxes, and quality of life matters.