Just more than six months ago, the bipartisan congressional Real Estate Caucus launched with the goals of addressing the housing affordability crisis as well as the persistent shortage of housing supply. Now, the outline of the group’s role — and how they hope to accomplish their aims — is beginning to take focus.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer also could give the caucus more relevance. Four members of Congress started the caucus in May, but more than 50 other members, or about one in nine House representatives, have joined.
“Across the country, housing is a key issue for many Americans, including those living in Missouri’s 4th District. … I’m glad the Real Estate Caucus can be a bipartisan forum to bring these issues to the forefront and help deliver results for the American people,” said Congressman Mark Alford, R-Missouri, in a statement.
The original members — two Democrats and two Republicans — all come from real estate agent backgrounds. They will rely on that professional expertise as well as personal experiences to help shape housing policy, said Lou Correa, D-Calif., in a statement.
“From the lack of affordable housing to access to capital, real estate issues directly impact working families and businesses in communities like mine across the country.”
“Folks in my community are very familiar with the affordable housing crisis — after all, Orange County is among the most expensive counties in California to live in,” Correa said. “From the lack of affordable housing to access to capital, real estate issues directly impact working families and businesses in communities like mine across the country.”
Alford and Correa as well as the other original caucus members, Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, and Brittany Pettersen, D-Colorado, serve as co-chairs. No members of the Senate had signed up as of early September, but the caucus had not reached out to members of that chamber yet.
Housing always polls as one of the top issues in the country, said a congressional aide familiar with the caucus’s activities. But Congress hasn’t made housing a priority outside of the housing crisis. There’s a Housing Subcommittee on Financial Services but that mostly deals with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing issues extend beyond federal agencies.
The congressional aide said the group didn’t set specific policies to enact when it formed. Instead, the idea behind the caucus was to create a forum for consumers and business interests to express their concerns and propose possible solutions on housing matters.
Industry groups from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) applauded the creation of the caucus. Housing has become a bigger and bigger pocketbook concern for constituents, said Bill Killmer, the MBA’s senior vice president for legislative and political affairs.
The hyper-partisan politics in place over the past decade has proven to be a “thicket” that makes it difficult to accomplish anything especially in an area as complex as housing and mortgage finance, Killmer said. The Real Estate Caucus can complement the existing congressional committee system.
He points to the tax package passed by the Trump Administration in 2017, scheduled to expire next year. No matter who is in the White House, Congress will be heavily involved in passing subsequent legislation that will affect taxes on business and real estate.
One of the first issues tackled by the caucus was the issue of veterans using their home loan guarantee on real estate broker fees. Previously, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disallowed that. In light of the NAR settlement on broker fees, the caucus urged the VA to suspend that rule, which the VA promptly did in August on a temporary basis. Caucus members plan to monitor the issue.
Something that could give the caucus more heft in the future is the Supreme Court decision overruling the Chevron deference, which was the 1984 unanimous ruling that courts should defer to federal agencies when interpreting statutes.
The current court overturned that precedent in June on a 6-3 decision. One of the practical impacts of that decision is that Congress will need to specify exactly what agencies can and cannot do. So, the Real Estate Caucus will play a role in navigating how Congress handles housing policies in future laws.
“In a post-Chevron world, there’s a higher burden on the Congress, or a caucus working within the Congress, to try to very concisely, precisely define in any statutes that they’re working on that may get signed into law what direction the law really is seeking to take,” Killmer said.
The caucus is bipartisan, but there are philosophical differences between the parties. The goal is for the caucus to become a venue to bring people together to talk about real estate issues and make sure congressional members are well informed.
There are times when the issues for both parties are aligned, such as on the veteran home loan issue earlier this year. If the caucus disagrees on areas of policies, then individual members can work separately on issues. The main point is that the caucus creates a chance for consumers, business interests and elected officials to talk over policies that affect real estate. “We are more than happy to see if we can be a venue to convene a bunch of members of Congress or their staffs to discuss any issues,” the congressional aide said. “We have an open door — if you want to come in and talk about your issues, please do.”
