After the national elections, NAHB weighed in on their potential impact on housing policy. Here’s some of what they had to say:
While the November elections clearly showed a fiercely partisan divide, Donald Trump scored a decisive presidential victory by sweeping all seven battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And in a sign of another solid election night for the GOP, the Senate flipped to the Republicans with GOP pick-ups in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. NAHB’s voter mobilization effort in Montana helped secure the win for Republican challenger Tim Sheehy, a pro-housing advocate. Meanwhile, the battle for the House majority is going down to the wire, with Republicans expected to narrowly hold the chamber, though Democrats hope to sweep the most contested races to eke out a razor-thin majority.*
…Thanks in large part to NAHB’s efforts, there is consensus on both sides of the political aisle to take concrete steps to address the nation’s housing affordability crisis.
For the past year, NAHB has laid the groundwork to make housing a top priority at the local, state, and national levels. Last spring, we unveiled a 10-point housing plan addressing the root causes of the problem, such as excessive regulations, inefficient local zoning rules, and permitting roadblocks that prevent builders from increasing the nation’s housing supply. This plan was distributed to congressional offices and many state and local HBAs shared it with their elected officials. During this election season, NAHB testified several times on Capitol Hill, and we maintained a presence at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this summer to push our housing agenda. NAHB also endorsed nearly 100 pro-housing Democratic and Republican candidates for Congress, and more than 90% of them won their races on November 5th.
These actions helped elevate housing to the forefront of the political agenda. President-elect Donald Trump said: “Government regulations are responsible for more than 25% of the cost of a new single-family home and 40% of the cost of multifamily. We’re going to end all of that.” And Vice President Kamala Harris also kept housing at the forefront of the campaign, pledging to work with home builders to construct an additional 3 million housing units.
And as the dust settles from this election, NAHB and our Federation stand poised to work with a new Congress and the incoming Trump administration, as well as elected officials at all levels of government, to deliver bipartisan solutions that break the rising cost curve and allow builders to construct more homes and apartments.
*As of today, the GOP did secure a majority in the House.
My take: Our feeling here at REBIC is that it’s a great time for us all to take a collective deep breath and move on. There are many tasks at hand that need our immediate attention as we work to resolve today’s problems and anticipate the solutions for tomorrow’s challenges. Our wish is that by implementing some common sense we can accomplish a lot. For example, some housing advocates continue to cling to strategies that have proven to fail over and over again. Those include such things as mandatory inclusionary zoning (a complete misnomer of a term as it only benefits a select few) and rent control. Some elected officials have determined that limiting density in residential areas will limit the amount of growth that can occur — thereby satisfying their most vocal residents who are opposed to the presence of ANY newcomers — many of whom have moved into their respective communities within the past decade.
As we move forward to yet another election cycle in 2025, one where we will elect our municipal leaders who are charged with making the decisions that truly affect our everyday lives, we should be asking for and insisting on them presenting us with plans to allow the private sector to meet current and future housing supply needs. What will they do to empower those who develop and build the homes for our work force, and what about the construction of commercial buildings for the companies that relocate to our thriving region? What are your questions? Please, get involved and ask them.
Over the course of the past several months a few of our Realtor® members have reached out to me with questions about the filing deadline for the Beneficial Ownership Report under the Corporate Transparency Act. As it turns out, the NC REALTORS® just published guidance on this topic so I thought this would be a good time to share that here on this platform: (Note, a link to the filing portal is at the end of this Q and A.)
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QUESTION: I keep hearing rumors that my real estate firm needs to file some kind of ownership report before the end of this year. I have no idea what these agents are talking about. Can you point me in the right direction?
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ANSWER: The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a new regulation that will impact many real estate firms. It was signed into law in January 2021, and the CTA is designed to help combat financial crime by requiring certain corporate entities to disclose information about their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The CTA applies to most small and medium-sized businesses, including corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), and other similar entities created or registered in the United States. Entities that meet certain exemptions, such as large operating companies with over 20 employees and $5 million in revenue, may not be required to file. If your entity is not exempt, then it will need to submit a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report to FinCEN. A complete list of exemptions and other helpful information can be found in this FAQ provided by FinCEN.
For new entities, BOI reports must be filed when the entity is formed or registered. This requirement went into effect on January 1, 2024. For existing entities, BOI reports must be filed by January 1, 2025. Once an initial BOI report is filed, any change to the beneficial ownership of a non-exempt entity must be reported within 30 days of the change.
Failure to file a BOI report when you are required to do so may result in serious consequences, including substantial fines and potential criminal penalties. However, filing is easy and can be completed online by going through the step-by-step filing portal here. If you are unsure whether you need to file, then you should consult with your own legal professional to ensure compliance.
My take: We’re all thinking the same thing and that is this is another example of a regulatory hurdle, although put in place for legitimate reasons, that could likely trip up more than a few who fail to comply. Requirements like these raise costs as compliance is time consuming. Fortunately, it appears this process is relatively simple. Please, check it out now.
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