Politics & Pancakes returned to NVAR’s annual convention, INSPIRE26: The REALTOR® Experience, on October 13, at Capital One Hall in Tysons, VA. The longstanding NVAR tradition brought real estate professionals together with elected leaders to discuss the political, economic, and policy issues affecting the industry and the communities they serve.
The morning program featured conversations with nationally recognized voices from Congress, housing policy, and advocacy, offering attendees perspectives on the issues shaping the future of real estate.
Housing Affordability and Economic Opportunity
Following opening remarks from Congressman James Walkinshaw, Yoni Appelbaum, Deputy Executive Editor of The Atlantic, social and cultural historian, and bestselling author of Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity, led a keynote conversation on housing mobility, affordability, and economic opportunity.
The discussion explored how housing policy and local growth decisions influence communities and access to opportunity. Appelbaum traced how zoning, from its exclusionary origins in 1880s California to today’s neighborhood review processes, has made it harder for Americans to move toward opportunity, and weakened communities that were once thriving because of a diverse and mobile population. NVAR Board member and Chair of the NVRPAC Trustees, Miranda Carter, followed on from Yoni’s keynote with a brief moderated Q&A to further explore how these broader trends affect Northern Virginia and the future of housing.
Attendees also received a complimentary copy of Appelbaum’s book, Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity.
Federal Policy and the Real Estate Industry
The program continued with a fireside chat featuring Shannon McGahn, Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and NVAR’s own Vice President of Government Affairs, Josh Veverka.
Much of the discussion centered on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, one of the most significant bipartisan housing packages in decades, and a major advocacy victory for Realtors®! McGahn took the audience behind the scenes of how NAR built the coalition to move the bill and kept it on track with both parties, across the House and Senate, and even as the temperature of the Administration shifted. She also pulled back the curtain on the advocacy machine members don’t always see to give us a view of “how the sausage gets made” in Washington.
The conversation then turned to issues close to home as Shannon and Josh discussed the More Homes on the Market Act and NAR’s push to modernize the capital gains exclusion on home sales, unchanged since 1997 despite dramatic appreciation in markets like Northern Virginia, and how updating it could help free up housing inventory. She also hit briefly on NAR’s new research on data centers and property values, high costs of home insurance, and numerous other federal policy efforts.
Finally, they closed with a look ahead to the midterm elections and how NAR keeps housing a bipartisan priority no matter who controls Congress.
Keeping Members Informed and Engaged
Politics & Pancakes provided an opportunity for attendees to connect with colleagues, hear from experienced voices in public policy, and learn more about the issues influencing real estate and local communities. We look forward to seeing you at Politics & Pancakes at INSPIRE27 on Tuesday, October 12!
