From Capitol Hill To Closing Tables: Nar Maps Its Next Legislative Advocacy Push

For the National Association of Realtors (NAR) housing affordability is a key area of focus when it comes to its legislative advocacy efforts this year.

“What’s notable — and encouraging — is that housing affordability has emerged as one of the few truly bipartisan issues in Washington” Shannon McGahn, NAR’s chief advocacy officer told HousingWire in December. “Whether it’s the ROAD to Housing Act, the More Homes on the Market Act, or broader supply-focused reforms, there is growing agreement that the status quo isn’t working.”

While McGahn and her team are dialed in on seeing even more progress in 2026, NAR did manage to record some major legislative wins in 2025. The trade association highlighted some of these along with plans for the coming year in its first Annual Report, published on Tuesday. 

Tacking housing supply and affordability

In the report, NAR highlighted some notable advocacy numbers for 2025, including seeing membership of the Congressional Real Estate Caucus, a bipartisan group working to tackle housing supply and affordability, grow to 100 members; having over 1000 grants, programs and initiatives funded to advance pro-housing policies and elect legislators focused on housing at the state and local level; defeating 11 “harmful” tax proposals over the past decade, which  NAR said prevented $1.3 trillion in new taxes on real estate; and holding over 5,000 meetings on Capitol Hill in 2025 between legislators and NAR leaders, which the trade group said were powered by “original consumer polling that demonstrated strong public support for Realtor priorities.” 

Championing next-gen leaders

As outlined in NAR’s 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, some of the association’s advocacy-focused initiatives include championing policies that promote and expand access for the next generation of real estate owners and engaging consumers in real estate advocacy to advocate for policies that protect private property rights and expand access to property ownership. 

When it comes to these initiatives, in 2025, NAR said its target advocacy efforts led to major legislative wins with regards to tax reform law, protecting homeownership, boosting consumer take-home pay and strengthening the real estate economy.

The trade group highlighted some key provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which it supported, including preserving mortgage interest and 1031 like-kind exchange deductions, expanding housing credits, raising the SALT and estate tax caps and locking in lower tax rates to support consumers and real estate professionals.

2026 is about advancing housing solutions

Looking ahead into 2026, NAR said it will “continue to engage policymakers and the Administration to advance solutions that expand access to homeownership and create opportunity for the next generation.” The trade group said it plans to do this through things like a first-time homebuyer course and working to support and elect “Realtor champions” in the 2026 midterm elections this coming November. NAR said it will also continue to “identify initiatives to advance and support state and local association advocacy through enhanced campaigns and resources.” 

As for consumer engagement in private property rights advocacy, NAR said in 2025, it worked with a variety of organizations to engage real estate consumers and elevate their voices. Some of these efforts included funding targeted campaigns like the National Homeownership Month initiative and partnering with the American Property Owners Alliance to activate consumer advocacy, which the association said contributed to wins like SALT cap reform. 

In 2026, NAR said it “must continue to drive consumer engagement and awareness and improve its reach to diverse consumer segments.” The association said this will include things like “modernizing and expanding its consumer advocacy programs” and “providing consumer-facing resources for state and local associations.” The trade group said it also plans to cultivate partnerships with other consumer organizations to further expand its reach and better support consumer advocacy priorities, such as fair housing, housing affordability and bridging the wealth gap.

NAR has encouraged its members to hold it accountable to accomplishing these Strategic Plan initiatives and delivering on the promised progress outlined in each Annual Report.