Realtors Explore Land Use Challenges, Opportunities

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(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- Smart growth, the impact of military base development, flood and natural disaster insurance, and widespread pine beetle infestation were just a few of the breadth of issues that Realtors shared during the national town hall meeting at the Land Use, Property Rights and Environment Forum today. The forum was part of the week-long Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here this week.

"Land use and environmental issues related to housing and development affect our global community," said National Association of Realtors President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. "Realtors care about improving communities and engage public policymakers head-on to address these challenges. Growth patterns, economic development and quality-of-life issues are inextricably linked to the success of communities and their residents."

The environmental impact on affordable property insurance is top-of-mind for many Realtors and their clients. Several forum participants reported that insurance companies in various states, including Florida, Louisiana and Minnesota, are imposing mandatory deductibles as a certain percentage of a home's value. The Realtors in attendance agreed that the availability and affordability of homeowners insurance affects communities across the country, not just residents in coastal regions or other areas susceptible to natural disasters.

Catastrophic natural disasters have wide-ranging effects that go beyond those immediately affected. Recent estimates are that each taxpaying family in the United States is paying $1,000 for disaster relief from the 2005 hurricanes. When insurance is difficult to get or prohibitively expensive, homes become less affordable and the local real estate market suffers.

Stephanie King-Chahine of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches mentioned the delicate balance and challenges inherent in land use and development issues between Smart Growth initiatives, NIMBY-ism ("not in my backyard"), and outer ring development. "When you have Smart Growth initiatives and infill development, there are people in the community that don't want that development in their backyard," King-Chahine said. "When development then moves to the outer suburbs, people complain about urban sprawl."

In response, Land Use, Property Rights and Environment Forum Chair Terence Sullivan, a Realtor from Spokane, Wash., explained that NAR's Land Use Initiative is a valuable resource for NAR members. The program helps state and local Realtor® associations plan public policy advocacy related to land use issues. Upon request, NAR provides expert analysis of the legal, planning, economic, and environmental issues surrounding legislative and regulatory land use proposals.

Greg Wright, president of the Washington Association of Realtors, emphasized the importance of fighting the "anti-housing" organizations. "As an association, we must continue to bring some intellectual honesty to this issue. Realtors must continue to work with coalition partners to ensure access to homeownership and develop solutions to some of the common problems we all face," said Wright. "More than NIMBY-ism, we must deal with the BANANA problem - the perspective that favors building absolutely nothing anywhere near anything."

The National Association of Realtors, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

For more real estate industry news and trends from the National Association of REALTORS, visit www.Realtor.org.

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