NAR Kicks Off Midyear Legislative Meetings

(Mark Your Calendars. The 11^th Annual RealShare Washington, DC convenes at the Ritz Carlton, June 1.)

WASHINGTON, DC-This week, starting Wednesday, about 10,000 Realtors will be descending on Capitol Hill to discuss with their representatives the issues facing the industry. They are here for the annual National Association of Realtors’ Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, a weeklong event consisting of internal governance meetings for the association and industry outreach on the Hill.

Home ownership issues will be a topic of debate, along with several key issues for the commercial real estate space, John DiBiase, NAR’s communications director of government affairs, tells GlobeSt.com. “One primary objective is to highlight the importance of bolstering commercial real estate lending through two legislative initiatives,” he says.

One is a measure that would allow credit unions to increase the amount of money they lend, the so-called Small Business Lending Enhancement Act, of which there are versions pending in both the Senate and the House. The other is legislation that would govern the formation of a US covered bond market, which many in the industry see as important to complement the CMBS market. There is legislation in both the House and Senate for that measure as well, DiBiase says.

Other topics Realtors will be discussing with their government representatives include access to affordable financing, streamlining short sales and reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program, which is set to expire on May 31. The week will cap off on Thursday with a rally at the Washington Monument on Thursday to highlight the importance of real estate to the general economy.