Event Coverage
SILVAR Leadership in D.C. to Advance Policy Issues
Members of SILVAR, the San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, and Santa Cruz County Associations of REALTORS® discuss pressing real estate-related issues with U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo.
SILVAR's leadership joined more than 9,000 REALTORS® and guests from across the nation in Washington, D.C. this week for the 2019 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. On their agenda were meetings with members of Congress, regulatory agency officials and top industry leaders. President Donald J. Trump addressed the REALTORS® today.
This year REALTORS® are advocating support for several critical legislative initiatives, including housing finance reform, national flood insurance program reauthorization, and housing affordability. In their meetings with their legislators, California REALTORS® also addressed their concerns about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which made significant changes to the treatment of residential real estate. They urged Congress to eliminate the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, noting the SALT cap is punitive to high-cost states and is a double taxation of middle-class Californians. They suggested Congress should also index for inflation the $750,000 mortgage interest deduction and the exclusion on the gains of a primary residence.
REALTORS® likewise urged their congressional leaders to implement meaningful mortgage finance reform and address Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being in conservatorship for over a decade. NAR's proposal, the REALTORS® Vision for Housing Finance Reform, would ensure homebuyers have access to the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, create competition in the mortgage market so homebuyers get a competitive interest rate, and California and other high-cost areas maintain their loan limits. If Congress does not act to address Fannie and Freddie, the U.S. regulator overseeing the GSEs will. The regulator has stated it is their intention to shrink Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a move which may disproportionately impact high-cost areas like California.
Leadership from SILVAR met with U.S. Representatives Anna Eshoo, who represents California's 18th Congressional; Jackie Speier, the 14th Congressional District; and Ro Khanna, the 17th Congressional District. Representing SILVAR at the meetings were President Alan Barbic, president-elect Mary Kay Groth, NAR directors Leannah Hunt and Jim Hamilton, executive officer Paul Cardus, government affairs director Ryan Carrigan and board director Joanne Fraser.
The legislators were supportive of the REALTORS®' issues. Eshoo, too, expressed her frustration with the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions and stated it is "stepping on people's dreams (of homeownership)" and taking them away. Remaining hopeful for change, including finding a solution to California's housing crisis, Eshoo said, "We have to stop thinking that things can't be done."
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The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.