Capitol and Market. It’s not only our address but also what we do. IAR backs you at the state Capitol and works to keep REALTORS® at the center of their local market. This monthly newsletter will report on these efforts, as well as all the other information you’re entitled to as a member.
Add news@indianarealtors.com to your address book and be sure to let your local association know when you change email addresses (that’s where we get your contact). Also, don’t hesitate to share your ideas for content. Thank you for reading and thank you for your membership.
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Rainy, Snowy, Icy Days = Perfect Opportunities to Get Your CE Done
Year #2 of the IAR Member Benefit CE program is underway. This means that if you need to complete CE, you can do so online/on-demand and for FREE through our school, RECP. Since we’ve got precipitation on the brain right now, we’re featuring the following 3-hour Broker CE class: H2O Risks, Rights, and Regulations. This class is one of four classes you can take to earn up to 12 hours. Click here to see the other three class titles and learn how to access your Member Benefit CE.
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New Floodplain Portal LaunchedA new Indiana Floodplain Information Portal is available that will save users valuable time. INFIP is designed to show flood risk associated with Indiana water bodies and provide information specifically for local and state floodplain permitting. This info is based on the regulatory floodplain limits, as floods exceeding the regulatory floodplain can and do occur. (We really do have precipitation on the brain!)
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Never Miss a Monday!If what you do on Monday sets the tone for the week, your state association is crushing it in 2022. On Monday, Jan. 10, we hosted the Legal Update + Legislative Outlook CE event. On Monday, Jan. 24, we kicked off Delegation Days – a series of five meetings with REALTORS® from one of IAR’s governance regions and state legislators from that same area. First up was region 4 (MIBOR) and the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus. Also, on the 24th, we helped defeat a bill that would have extended the state sales tax to services (more on that below). This past Monday, Jan. 31, the Indiana REALTORS® Leadership Academy Class of 2022 met, we hosted members from region 3 (northeast Indiana) for Delegation Day #2, and we installed the 2022 Board of Directors – all in the Indiana REALTOR® Building.
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Registration Opens Feb. 16 for NAR Legislative Meetings in MayGet out of town… for a good cause. Join NAR in advancing issues important to the real estate profession and the livelihood of REALTORS®. This event has a new location -- National Harbor, MD – so longtime attendees will need to pay close attention to the schedule and lodging choices. Choice hotels will book up fast, so make sure you register ASAP on February 16. If you register, mark your calendar for the evening of May 4. That’s when Hoosiers will gather for a special Indiana event. More information TBA.
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HB 1083 (Sales Tax on Services) Dies in CommitteeHouse Bill 1083, a bill that would have extended the state sales tax to services, last week died in committee when the chairman declined to offer it for a vote. This action came after a great deal of testimony from opponents, including IAR. Why were we opposed? Services include title work, insurance, mortgage lending, inspections, surveys, appraisals, repairs, and possibly even real estate commissions. HB 1083 would have amounted to a new tax on home buying at a time when rising home values are already pushing homeownership out of reach for many potential buyers. A companion bill also languished in the state Senate, so it appears the issue is decided for this year. That said, we know state legislators want to find new ways to grow our tax base while lowering rates and we expect the issue to rear its head again next year. IAR will remain vigilant, and we ask that you do the same, especially if you have close relationships with your state representative and state senator. Find your state legislators here.
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IAR Report from Half-Time at the Statehouse
This week marks the halfway point for the Indiana General Assembly (state legislature). This means bills that do not pass their house of origin (Indiana House of Representatives or Indiana Senate) will not advance this year unless creatively amended into other legislation that is still alive. State legislative leaders are still grappling with controversial bills regarding vaccine mandates and executive powers, the teaching of history in schools, and property tax cuts to businesses that may leave shortfalls to local government budgets. Moreover, Indiana House and Indiana Senate fiscal leaders disagree about whether to spend a portion of the substantial $4.5 billion state surplus or save revenue decisions for next year’s biennial budget session. IAR has several bills we are supporting that have successfully moved through the process, and a few bad bills we oppose that will not advance.
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RPAC: $22 in ’22 Campaign2021 was a record year for RPAC investment by Indiana REALTORS® with a total of $914,961.02 contributed. Statewide RPAC Fundraising Chair Zach Miller of Noblesville wants 2022 to be even stronger. Miller is challenging Indiana REALTORS® to increase RPAC investor participation with the “$22 in ‘22” campaign to put us in the running for NAR’s President’s Cup. The President’s Cup is a hard-earned achievement presented by NAR in recognition of state and local associations that go above and beyond with investing in the REALTOR® Party and advocating for our industry. We will launch our 2022 RPAC fundraising campaign on 2/2/22, asking all members to commit to investing $22 in RPAC this year. We know from experience that RPAC Major Investors often began their commitment to RPAC with a small investment. So, consider this campaign our effort to build for the future. More information will come soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact IAR’s Alexis Meyers.
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State Rental Assistance Program Now Includes Elkhart, Lake, and St. Joseph Counties
Since our October webinar with the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority, the agency has announced that Elkhart, Lake, and St. Joseph Counties are now part of the state rental assistance program. This means that qualifying renters living in these counties can apply for up to 15 months in assistance to cover past due and ongoing monthly rent and utility payments. Tenants must apply at www.IndianaHousingNow.org Housing providers can create an account on the vendor portal (at the same website) to monitor the status of your tenant’s application and provide information and documents relevant to the application.
Hamilton County, Marion County, and the city of Fort Wayne are still operating separate rental assistance programs, so tenants living in these areas are not eligible for the state rental assistance program. The above website has links to the local programs.
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IAR Directors Officially Installed, President Andy Rudolph IntroducedOn Monday, Jan. 31, we officially installed our 2022 Board of Directors before their first meeting. We also got a special video introduction to President Andy Rudolph from those who know him best back home in southwest Indiana.
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IAR Committees, Members AnnouncedAssisting the Board of Directors this year are several committees. Many of our committee members are VIPs. Well, they’re all VIPs of course, but in this instance, we mean those who completed a Volunteer Interest Profile. Complete one today if you’re interested in getting involved with your state association.
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Leadership Academy Class of 2022 MeetsThe Indiana REALTORS® Leadership Academy Class of 2022 met for the third time in person this past Monday. They plugged into Delegation Day #2. Delegation Days are a series of five meetings with REALTORS® from one of IAR’s governance regions and state legislators from that same area. The highlight was meeting up with Leadership Academy graduate and now State Representative Tim O’Brien from Evansville.
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Become a Forms Content Pro with Free Training ToolsThere’s always an uptick in calls to the IAR Legal Hotline following a round of annual forms changes. See what your fellow IAR members are asking and how our attorneys are answering in this Q&A document. Want to take your forms knowledge to a higher level and better serve your clients? Check out our video series and this year’s Member Benefit CE package, which includes a 4-hour class dedicated to forms. Our attorneys and school staff (RECP) collaborated on the class, it qualifies for both Broker and Managing Broker CE and is offered online/on-demand. The best part is, it’s free!
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Membership Marks: Are You in Compliance?The REALTOR® logo and the terms REALTOR®, REALTOR-ASSOCIATE®, and REALTORS® are registered trademarks that have only one meaning: membership in the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR recently updated its Membership Marks Manual to instruct members and associations on the correct use. Among the rules is that members are not permitted to use REALTOR®/REALTORS® in their business name. Last week, after reviewing the Indiana Secretary of State’s business filings, NAR notified us that several Indiana businesses include REALTOR®/REALTORS® in their name and asked us to help them reach out. Please check the manual above and correct your business filing if needed. Send questions to trademark@nar.realtor.
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12% of Indiana Buyers Purchased a Multi-Generational Home in 2021Every year, IAR purchases an oversample to the beloved NAR Home Buyers and Sellers Profile to give members a deeper dive into their home market. The above fact comes from that profile, which you can find here. At minimum, we recommend reviewing the Survey Intro and Highlights document. It’ll give you great insight into your clients and fodder for your various publications. Also, here’s our year-end housing data press release.
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IAR Data Scientist Janice Childress Talks InventoryInventory of homes has been a hot topic, and with good reason. Low inventory issues are leading to rising home prices across the country. Indiana is no exception to this.
IAR is examining the effects of low inventory on the market. Lower-priced homes are affected by the current issues more heavily as home prices continue to increase. As the prices of homes across the state increase, the number of homes available at lower price points drops. This adds to existing issues with housing affordability as fewer and fewer homes sell for amounts that are affordable to the working class. Homes that can be purchased at lower price points are smaller than they were in the past and have higher demand, leading to more competition.
While IAR cannot add homes to the inventory, we can do several things to help. We can provide information both across the state and in local areas on inventory at different price points. We can inform on both the number of houses available and what a typical house in that category might look like. We can also work towards ensuring public policy encourages more stable prices. IAR is supplying data to ensure the situation is clear. Currently, IAR is working on a study with the Indiana University Public Policy Institute on the impact of a potential change in taxes on the housing market as well as supplying data to the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA) for a housing dashboard.
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