Since the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) hired its first lobbyist in 1973, America’s largest trade association has been working together to advance public policies and candidates that build strong communities, protect property interests and promote a vibrant business environment. In 2010-2011, NAR ramped up its efforts at the state and local levels by launching the REALTOR® Party Initiative. This included grants and tools to help state and local REALTOR® Associations run candidate and issue campaigns, and implement smart growth, housing opportunity and diversity programs, and much more.
As the only advocacy group in America that fights exclusively for homeownership, real estate investment, strong communities and the free enterprise system, the REALTOR® Party is not focused on the right, left or even the middle of the aisle; it is focused on the issues that matter to existing and future homeowners and the real estate industry.
Supporting candidates and campaigns and engaging in community outreach, the REALTOR® Party leverages the association’s best asset—its grassroots network of 1.4 million REALTORS® across the U.S. and its territories—to work hard on behalf of America’s 75 million homeowners and those who aspire to one day own property of their own.
In recent years, our local level activities have increased; REALTORS® have gained political clout through legislative victories in every corner of the country; and state and local REALTOR® Associations have expanded their community and political presence…all because of the actions of the REALTOR® Party.
REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) & Political Fundraising
The REALTOR® Party works hand-in-hand with the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC); however, RPAC is a voluntary program and provides the “hard” dollars the association uses to make direct contributions to national, state and local candidates. This partnership is what makes us a force to be reckoned with at the local, state and national levels.
Launched in 1969 as the Real Estate Political Education Committee (REPEC), RPAC supports candidates of any party who understand and champion real estate issues. It is the most bipartisan major PAC in the country. Political expenditures are divided nearly evenly among Republicans and Democrats based on their support of real estate issues. In 1974, NAR changed REPEC’s name to RPAC.
With the game-changing Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission in 2010, NAR created an independent expenditure-only committee, the National Association of REALTORS® Congressional Fund, which helps supplement RPAC funding of federal and state independent expenditures. The Congressional Fund allows the tax-efficient use of NAR member dues to complement the association’s RPAC-funded political efforts, which are used for direct contributions to candidates.
In 2015, NAR created the Corporate Ally Program to provide our extended real estate family—namely Multiple Listing Services and their business partners and advisors, real estate brokerages, NAR business affiliates and vendors and Institutes, Societies and Councils—with the flexibility of investing their corporate dollars to support the REALTOR® Party issues and/or candidate programs.
Top Ten Reasons to Invest in RPAC:
RPAC works at all levels of government. And 70% of the funds stay here in Idaho.
Most of the money stays in our back yard for issues like property taxes, yard sign ordinances and disclosure requirements.
RPAC is truly non-partisan. We support the REALTOR® Party!
It's not about Republicans or Democrats, Liberals or Conservatives. The REALTOR® Party is focused only on issues that matter to you and your clients.
Advocacy in the REALTOR® Party is as easy as: Vote. Act. Invest.
Get engaged. Make a difference. If we're not at the table, we're on the menu.
RPAC supports our clients and community.
It's not about us as REALTORS®.
It's not a charity, but it's not self-serving either. Did you know that with every home sale it puts an average of $61,000 into our local economy. RPAC helps your clients livelihood, lifestyles and personal wealth!
RPAC is like insurance for your business.
It protects you more than you know!
You've got insurance for your home, your car and your health, right? Why not your profession?
RPAC protects private property rights and promotes homeownership.
More closings for you by being a champion for you in areas that count.
You can invest on a monthly or even a quarterly basis.
Invest the amount that's right for you and your business. It's easy and affordable!
Mortgage Interest Deduction and other tax benefits are cool.
It's cool - seriously. So is the 30-year mortgage, property tax deduction, flood insurance and a bunch of other benefits that make homeownership accessible and affordable.
Investing in RPAC saves you from having to read legislation and go the capitol yourself.
You have a lawyer to protect your rights, a banker to protect your money, and insurance to protect your home and property. RPAC protects your livelihood.
I'm an investor, and I'm asking you to invest, too.
RPAC is important to me, and it will mean a lot for you to join me as an investor.
Idaho REALTORS® advocates on behalf of it’s members at federal, state and local levels of government to promote the development and adoption of policies that protect private property rights, advance industry standards for consumers and REALTORS®, and encourage the American dream of home ownership. Successful advocacy is achieved through a variety of people and programs.
Success Stories In Idaho
Short Term Rentals
GOING ON NOW
RPAC is aiding in the fight against Short-Term Rental (STR) regulation across Idaho. In Lava Hot Springs the city has placed restrictions on what homeowners can do with their property and RPAC is there to help with Private Property Rights.
Down Payment Assistance
Thanks to RPAC, homeowners are not required to put a minimum of 20% down to buy a home.
Transfer Taxes
Thanks to RPAC, Idaho does not have transfer taxes and there is not a tax on commissions.
CARES Act
Thanks to RPAC, REALTORS® received crucial unemployment benefits in the CARES Act.
First Time Home Buyers Savings Account
Because of RPAC, Idaho created a First Time Home Buyers Savings Account.
Homeowners Exemption
Thanks to Idaho RPAC, the April 15th filing deadline to apply for the homewowners exemption was removed so that homeowners can apply for the exemption at anytime.
School Board Member Elected
October 2021
Our Local RPAC was able to help elect a fellow REALTOR® Member to District 93's School Board.
Essential Workers
March 2020
When Idaho was entering the Covid-19 Pandemic, REALTORS® were not going to be deemed "essential workers." Thanks to Idaho RPAC, the real estate industry and related services were listed as essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the local Land Trust acquired 180 acres for a community forest outside Sandpoint, Idaho, the Selkirk Association of REALTORS® made supporting accessibility a priority. With a Placemaking Grant from the REALTOR® Party, it provided benches along the level half-mile path to ensure connecting with Nature was easier for those with limited mobility.
When the local Land Trust acquired 180 acres for a community forest outside Sandpoint, Idaho, the Selkirk Association of REALTORS® made supporting accessibility a priority. With a Placemaking Grant from the REALTOR® Party, it provided benches along the level half-mile path to ensure connecting with Nature was easier for those with limited mobility.
The Idaho Association of REALTOR® brought its savvy advocacy to bear on a pair of bills helping first-time homebuyers get a leg up in an increasingly expensive market: a dedicated tax-free savings account program, and the elimination of the filing deadline for applying for a homeowner’s tax exemption. Both have been signed into law.
The Coeur d’Alene REALTOR® association wanted to use one of the REALTOR® Party’s Smart Growth Action Grants to help a local community where its members live and work. Working together with the City of Rathdrum, Idaho, they planned and built a ‘Storybook Trail’ at the base of Rathdrum Mountain.
With a series of Smart Growth Action Grants, Selkirk REALTORS® supported a multi-year planning process for an integrated network of pedestrian and bicycle routes in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Complete with graphic branding and signage, the plan will enhance the local active transport scene for residents, and contribute to the region’s growing appeal to bike tourism.
The pride that comes with having served in the armed forces makes it hard for many veterans to seek help securing and maintaining housing. “If anyone’s going to do something about their housing needs, it’s going to be the REALTORS®,” says the Executive Officer of Idaho’s Sun Valley Board of REALTORS®. But first, they have to find them.
In the fastest growing region in the fastest growing state in the nation, the public school facilities could not keep up with the booming student population. An Issues Mobilization campaign helped get a $95 million bond measure approved for new schools, school expansions, and the purchase of future school sites.
Using a pilot Walkable Communities Grant from the REALTOR® Party, the REALTORS® of Boise, ID, jump-started a much-needed visioning process for an improved Orchard Street Corridor: a major downtown thoroughfare that was neither attractive, convenient, nor safe for pedestrians.
Clocking in at just 235 members, Idaho's Greater Pocatello Association of REALTORS® (GPAR) nevertheless thinks big when it comes to RPAC fundraising. Earlier this year, the association put an RPAC grant to work by hosting a “Surf & Turf Dinner and Raffle” where they raised more than $20,000, and inspired 21 members to step up to the next investor level – including two who joined the President’s Circle.
No one ever said it would be quick or easy. But the Ada County Association of REALTORS® (ACAR) stuck to its conviction that focusing on workforce housing is good for everyone in a community. The 3,000-member association is finally beginning to see results from its years of diligent Employer Assisted Housing efforts in and around Boise, Idaho.
Ever since the world's first chairlift was installed at the Sun Valley Resort in the 1930s, the local economy of this idyllic resort community has been chiefly dependent on visitors. A number of these tourists will become second home owners at the highest end of the market.
In its first-ever experiment with political involvement, the 250-member Greater Twin Falls Association of REALTORS® proved that you don’t have to be big to be effective. The city of Twin Falls needed to expand its waste water treatment plant, in order to support the growth and attract new business. With help from the Idaho Association, as well as a $10,000 Issues Mobilization grant and campaign assistance from NAR, the Twin Falls Association worked with local businesses and citizens to promote a special ballot initiative to fund expansion of the plant. They used the grant to develop direct mailers, business flyers and a live reminder phone call to voting households before the special election. In the end, nearly 70 percent voted in favor of funding the initiative.
The 3,000-member Ada County Association of REALTORS® (ACAR) first used an NAR Ira Gribin Grant to develop a three-pronged housing assistance program it called Welcome Home Idaho -- providing down payment assistance for working families; zero-percent loans to help with fees and interest; and Employer Assisted Housing materials and training for the community’s REALTORS®, elected officials, and business leaders. Then, it moved on to use NAR Housing Opportunity Grants to put on a housing summit; a Fair Housing campaign; a housing trust fund for lower-income homebuyers; and more.
When Jim Johnston was appointed to the City Council of Pocatello, Idaho in early 2011, he was new to political office – but no stranger to public service. In fact, when he ran for election to keep his seat just six months later, polling partly funded by NAR found that he had a whopping 84 percent name recognition. The Idaho native had achieved this not only through his through his 30 years’ experience as a leading REALTOR® in Pocatello, but thanks to his dedicated involvement with organizations ranging from the Idaho Chapter of the American Red Cross, to the Grand Teton Council of Boys Scouts of America, to the United Way, and more. The 5,800-member Idaho Association of REALTORS® put together a campaign plan that involved promotional outreach, and an extensive get-out-to-vote effort. Then they turned to NAR’s Campaign Services Department and asked them to fund 50 percent of it – and they did.
Success Stories National
2022 - Affordable Housing Supply Crisis
2022 - The Inflation Reduction Act PASSED - Stripped of nearly a dozen tax increases on real estate investment. Protect the 1031 like-kind exchange.
2022 - Supported Funding for homeless assistance, housing counseling, rural housing, distressed neighborhoods, rental assistance, and State and Local Recovery funds.
Nearly 2,000 attendees gathered last week at the RPAC President's Circle Conference to hear from REALTOR® champions and top political leaders. President’s Circle plays a key role in NAR’s powerful advocacy operation as we work to make the American Dream affordable, accessible, and available to all. Read more about recent REALTOR® wins to bring relief to home buyers, including reducing mortgage insurance premiums and advancing remote online notarization.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the SECURE Notarization Act at the end of February, marking another crucial step toward allowing nationwide use of remote online notarization technology. NAR has advocated for remote online notarization since 2018 and worked to build support on both the state and federal levels. NAR will continue to urge the bill’s passage in the Senate to promote more accessible, efficient, and secure real estate transactions.
In late February, Vice President Kamala Harris and HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge announced a reduction in mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) by 30 basis points. NAR has continuously advocated for responsibly reducing MIPs to help qualified home buyers struggling with affordability in the current environment. FHA projects that this reduction will save buyers with FHA mortgages an average of $800 in their first year of homeownership.
NAR filed an amicus brief on March 6 in Tyler v. Hennepein County to defend home equity interests before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involves a Minnesota statute that allows the government to seize a homeowner’s property to satisfy a government debt and keep any surplus from the sale in excess of the debt owed as a windfall. NAR, along with the American Property Owners Alliance and the Minnesota REALTORS®, filed the amicus brief in support of the property owner’s entitlement to $25,000 in surplus equity – and will continue to defend private property rights.
NAR’s 2023 Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America found that while the U.S. homeownership rate increased to 65.5% in 2021, the rate among Black Americans lags significantly (44%) and is nearly 29 percentage points less than White Americans (72.7%), representing the largest Black-White homeownership rate gap in a decade. Meanwhile, Asian and Hispanic Americans experienced the biggest homeownership rate gains.
As of February 28, RPAC has reached 38% of its national fundraising goal, with more than $19 million raised at all three levels of the association, and 49% of its federal disbursements allocation goal, with over $4.8 million raised at the national level. RPAC currently has 2,156 Major Investors, 541 President’s Circle members, and a 24% participation rate.
The REALTORS® Relief Foundation announced its 2023 fundraising campaign, aiming to raise $5 million this year to provide housing relief to victims of hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other disasters.
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