By Todd Shea
2023 President
Santa Barbara Association of Realtors
From May 8th through May 11th of this year, our local Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS® leadership traveled to Washington DC to attend the NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) legislative conference. This conference is a place where the leadership of every association in the United States comes together and talks about trends in the market, legislation on a national level that affects the housing industry, and networks with one another.
This year there were a variety of hot topics including lack of inventory, new construction and replacing retail with residential, insurance, electrification, capital gains, tax incentives, initiatives for underserved communities and diversity, and legislation affecting homeowners. SOME BIG TOPICS! And for fun, AI was thrown in the mix. When you go to these meetings with such large topics, sometimes it is hard to feel like you can make a difference.