Bill Tracking Report as of 4/19/2024 Week 6 Report There was a lot of action at the Capitol this week as the 2024 Legislative Session races towards its April 22nd halfway mark.  The halfway mark is the time the House starts hearing Senate bills, the Senate starts hearing House bills, and the “money bills”, aka the state budget and state capital outlay program, begin wrapping up public testimony before heading to the House floor. Legislators are expecting many late nights over the next few weeks as they work through the important issues facing Louisiana and race towards the June 3rd fin ..read more

A Message from Ken Fears, NAR Director of Conventional Finance and Valuation Policy Earlier this week, both  Fannie Mae  and  Freddie Mac  published explicit confirmations that buyers whose agent is compensated by the seller will continue to have access to financing through those institutions.  Furthermore, so long as it remains "customary" for the seller to pay commissions, those will not be added to the interest party contributions (IPC) and subject to the caps on IPCs. Interpretation of this rule under the proposed settlement was of great concern, and NAR  wr ..read more

Bill Tracking Report as of 4/12/2024 Week 5 Report ..read more

Bill Tracking Report as of 4/5/2024 Week 4 Report ..read more

NAR President Kevin Sears joined the Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast answering questions about the future of NAR and the recently announced settlement agreement. The podcast can be viewed here ..read more

Last week NAR President Kevin Sears checked in from Wyoming, where he met with REALTORS® from six western states at the Region 11 Conference. Kevin’s attended many member town halls across the country to answer questions about the settlement; keep up with the latest at facts.realtor .   You can watch Kevin’s video here to learn about a valuable member service we’re offering at no additional cost, as well as how members can engage with NAR committees. This video is also in the video section of our website. Stay tuned for Kevin’s next update. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Throughout 2024, NAR is ..read more

Update from Katie Johnson, NAR Chief Legal Officer and Chief Member Experience Officer We recognize that some of you have raised questions about NAR’s recent settlement agreement and what effect, if any, it will have on commercial transactions. I want to clarify that the proposed settlement agreement—like the Sitzer-Burnett lawsuit and the copycat lawsuits—is focused on residential real estate transactions. That means most commercial transactions will not be affected. Below I have included a handful of clarifying points that can be used with commercial practitioners in your associations. I’v ..read more

Enacted in 1968 as a component of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act is a significant legislative measure that aims to promote equal opportunity in housing-related transactions and combat housing discrimination. The following are three essential facts regarding the Fair Housing Act:   Prohibitions on Discrimination The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) forbids discrimination based on seven protected characteristics (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, and familial status) in purchasing, leasing, and financing housing. Thus, landlords, sellers, lenders, and r ..read more

Earlier this week, NAR President Kevin Sears sat down with NAR’s Real Estate Today podcast to discuss the settlement agreement and what it means for NAR, our members, and the industry ..read more

A Message from Ken Fears, NAR Director of Conventional Finance and Valuation Policy NAR along with the Mortgage Bankers Association sent a  letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac seeking confirmation that homebuyers will continue to have access to mortgage credit after the proposed settlement is complete. Specifically, NAR and MBA asked the regulators and GSEs to confirm that the custom of excluding seller's payment of commissions for buyer's agents will continue to be excluded from the limits on Interested Party Contributions ..read more