REALTOR Analysis Of Tax Bill Is Worth Examining

Written By: Bob Hunt
Monday, December 18, 2017

It is no secret that the National, State, and Local Realtorreg; associations are strongly opposed to certain provisions in both the House and Senate versions of the current tax reform bills. The REALTORreg; concerns range from worry that changes to the present capital gain exclusion will result in a further decrease to for-sale inventory, to concern that proposals regarding mortgage interest and property-tax deductibility are liable to decrease home ownership rates and to drastically depress property values.

It is not my intention here to repeat those arguments or to analyze their validity. There simply isnt enough room for that. Rather, I would like to encourage readers to examine on their own some of the Realtorreg; organizations central arguments and, importantly, the facts and figures that undergird them.

Credit where its due: the National Association of REALTORSreg; NAR has devoted a great deal of effort to collect and present the data on which its conclusions are based. Moreover, they are presented in a manner that is both accessible and >

Interested persons can examine the REALTORreg; analyses at the NAR website. They are available on the public pages; you dont have to be a member to access them.

Many commentators have observed that the real-estate >

Even looking at state-by-state impacts paints with too broad a brush, so the analysis is also carried out at the level of congressional districts. Hence, for Californias 49th District -- on the coast -- the projected typical loss of home value is approximately 58,000; whereas, in the less expensive inland area, Californias District 23 would be expected to see an average loss of just over 20,000.

Of course, the arguments arent just over home values. There are also discussions of ancillary economic activity generated by home sales, as well as the more intangible values that home ownership brings to neighborhoods.

Interested in the Realtorreg; analysis of possible impacts from the current tax proposals? Read about it Here. Think about it. And let your representatives know what you think, whichever side youre on.

Bob Hunt is a director of the California Association of Realtorsreg;. He is the author of Real Estate the Ethical Way. His email address is .