Monthly Archives: March 2017
The Fair Housing Act and non-citizens: What you need to know
In light of contemporary American discourse and current events, a question regarding the scope of the Fair Housing Act was posed: Does the FHA prohibit discrimination on the basis of citizenship?
Put another way, can housing providers refuse to rent to a person because the prospective tenant is an illegal alien? As always, the starting point for this question will be the FHA itself. Under the FHA, it is unlawful to refuse to rent, sell or discriminate in the terms of a rental on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin.” The text of the FHA does not directly answer the question as it does not directly state alienage or citizenship. The closest categories relating to citizenship are the bases of race, color and national origin.
The next question is whether discrimination on the basis of citizenship constitutes discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin. Courts that have addressed this issue have consistently held that it is not. A U.S. Supreme Court decision, Espinoza v. Farah Mfg. Co., stated that the term “national origin” refers to the country where a person was born or the country from which his or her ancestors came. “National origin” does not refer to the dichotomy between citizen and non-citizen. In employment contexts, the Supreme Court used a helpful example: “It would be unlawful for an employer to discriminate against aliens because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin—for example, by hiring aliens of Anglo-Saxon background but refusing to hire those of Mexican or Spanish ancestry … but nothing in the Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of citizenship or alienage.”
Because the Supreme Court was construing the same phrase, “national origin,” that appears in other parts of the civil rights act, lower courts have applied that same reasoning to the question of housing. Therefore, it may be permissible to discriminate on the basis of citizenship, and therefore against, illegal immigrants, under the FHA.
A review of the FHA, however, does not end our inquiry into this subject. As I am sure readers are aware, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act contains many of the same protections as the FHA and in some areas, additional protection. The relevant sections of the regulations promulgated under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act use the terms “race, color, familial status, age, religious creed, ancestry, sex, national origin, handicap or disability of any person” to define a protected class from discrimination. I have yet to find binding Pennsylvania case law directly speaking of citizenship. Thus, for the time being, this question is left unanswered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.
At the end of all of this, we are left with some mostly complete answers. Under federal law, it is permissible to discriminate on the basis of citizenship, but under state law, it may or may not be. (We venture that Pennsylvania would likely follow federal law on this point.) In reviewing all of this, it is important to remember one last critical point. Whether you should factor in citizenship requirements is a very different question than whether you should make this determination in housing decisions.
Wyoming REALTORS® Derails Tax on Services Threat with Timely Advocacy
The Wyoming Association of REALTORS® (WAR) is careful to use Calls For Action (CFA) sparingly, sending a few out each year to keep members in practice, but “never so many that they feel like we’re asking for help every time they turn around,” says Government Affairs Director Laurie Urbigkit. “Our members know that if they get a CFA from me,” she says, “it means the world is coming to an end!”
Early in 2017, just such an extreme situation developed in the Wyoming statehouse, and when Urbigkit put out the call, the REALTORS® responded accordingly. The end of the world, in this case, was the threat of a tax on all services that had suddenly appeared on the agenda of the House Revenue Committee, without debate or public testimony. The bill bore the benign title, ‘HB 243 School Finance-Capital Construction Funding,’ but would have imposed a comprehensive sales tax on services provided by all professionals, from barbers to babysitters. For the real estate industry, it would not only have added to an agent’s commission, but to the appraisal, title insurance, closing fee, loan fees, inspections, repairs, surveys and legal fees. WAR was keenly aware that, in addition to burdening the operation of real estate brokerages as small businesses, these added costs would effectively block many first-time home buyers from the market.
The association had actually been keeping an eye out for such threats to the industry. In recent years, as Wyoming’s mineral-based economy has been driven down by low oil and gas prices, explains Urbigkit, the state’s general revenue has been substantially reduced, putting pressure on the Revenue Committee to find sources elsewhere. In fact, this bill had died in committee just last September for lack of a motion, “because no one would touch it,” she says. But the committee had experienced a turnover in seven-out-of-nine seats since November’s election, and the chairman decided to revisit the proposal.
Urbigkit leapt to action, alerting all WAR members who are constituents of Revenue Committee members that it was time to make their voices heard. “The REALTOR® Party Hub email communications system is great,” she says. “I can target our members by committee, or by district, and engage them very easily in our advocacy efforts.” Just as Urbigkit is careful not to ‘cry wolf’ with too many Calls for Action to her members, she also guards the Wyoming legislators from undue bombardment. In order to protect the value of their messages, her members are only asked to contact representatives of their own districts. “Our legislators know that when the REALTORS® are concerned, they’re getting messages from their own constituents, and that carries much more weight than flooding their in-boxes indiscriminately.”
In response to the urgent CFA regarding the tax on services, a concentrated blast of emails to the House Revenue Committee ensued, complementing WAR’s in-person lobbying efforts. The bill was defeated in a 0-9 vote. “We’re very fortunate to have tools like this at our disposal!” says Urbigkit, adding, “The technology is so precise and effective, and our members are right there with it.”
To learn more about how Wyoming REALTORS® are protecting the real estate industry and keeping homeownership accessible for first-time buyers, contact Laurie Urbigkit, Government Affairs Director of the Wyoming Association of REALTORS®, at 307-851-1191.
Washington REALTORS® Help Revitalize Downtown Bellingham
In 2015, a neighborhood in the city of Bellingham, Washington, received a few fairly modest, highly creative additions intended to improve the quality of life and build community. They included a painted concrete ‘soapbox’ for anyone to preach from, and a hanging garden adding vibrant greenery to the side of a multi-storey car-park: signs of life that signaled the slow but steady revival of the city’s downtown district, the vitality of which had been drained by the arrival of shopping malls in outlying areas several decades ago.
The 534-member Whatcom County Association of REALTORS® (WCAR) had supported the placemaking competition that brought these colorful improvements to the city streets. The following year, in 2016, a Level 3 Smart Growth Action Grant kicked its involvement up a notch: as a major sponsor of a placemaking event that drew 24 competitors and more than 500 community members, resulting in five new projects and paving the way for even more. WCAR positioned itself as a distinctly positive force in Bellingham’s urban renewal.
WCAR Executive Officer Perry Eskridge credits Past President Cerise Noah as being the one with the vision to engage the REALTORS® in revitalizing the city center. “She was at a Downtown Bellingham Plan meeting when the placemaking concept was pitched, and recognized it as a good project for the REALTORS®,” says Eskridge. “She also realized that if we succeeded in getting a REALTOR® Party grant, we’d need a community partner to help implement the program, so she forged a partnership with Sustainable Connections, a highly effective local organization that got the job done, and made it great fun for the community.”
Rose Lathrop, Sustainable Connections’ Green Building & Smart Growth Manager, organized a colorful competition that attracted dozens of proposals to add life to Bellingham’s North State Street corridor, a high-profile downtown location suffering from outdated infrastructure and lack of public funding. The event was called “KAPOW!” and the super-hero theme packed a punch of creative energy. Eight projects, chosen for their creativity, innovation, potential to be realized and social impact, were presented to an enthusiastic crowd at the Mount Baker Theater in a rapid-fire pecha kucha format, which allows each competitor just under seven minutes and twenty PowerPoint slides to convey a concept.
WCAR 2016 President MaryKay Robinson, who served on the committee that chose the finalists, notes how fun it was to watch the parade of dynamic, well-organized proposals, of which three were granted the Mayor’s Choice Award, the juried Superhero Award and the People’s Choice Award. “We had funding budgeted for those three awards,” she explains, “but the great thing was that two audience members felt compelled to fund two others that had appealed most to them. So we actually had five winners!” Among them are a coin-operated all-weather dance space; a giant sidewalk hopscotch game; and a bicycle maintenance, map and repair station. WCAR opted to finance the State Street light installation, part of a solar system scale model that will bring a more human, pedestrian element down the length of the North State Street corridor, says Eskridge.
Lathrop agrees that the event was a tremendous success, and reports that the process has also inspired the city of Bellingham to make additional investments on State Street, including re-striping for reduced lane widths and traffic calming measures. Based on the strength of the 2016 event, she is now planning a KAPOW! placemaking event for this year focused on Birchwood, a neighborhood separated from the rest of the city by both economic barriers and physical divides, notably a ravine and an airport.
Beyond the enlivening benefits for the city, says Eskridge, the placemaking events and projects shine a positive light on the REALTORS® as they invest back in to the community. “It’s good to be a part of the good things happening here in Bellingham, and we’re very grateful to the REALTOR® Party for its support of our efforts.”
To learn more about how the REALTORS® of Whatcom County are helping to revitalize areas of downtown Bellingham, Washington, contact Perry Eskridge, Executive Officer of the Whatcom County Association of REALTORS®, at 360-671-5477, or WCAR 2016 President MaryKay Robinson at 360-734-7500.
REALTORS® Promote Affordable Housing for the Los Angeles Workforce
A recent report from the California Housing Development Office indicates that while the state population is growing significantly, its production of affordable housing units in the last decade has fallen way short of the demand. The statistics didn’t surprise Mel Wilson, a seasoned Los Angeles broker who’s been concerned about the shortage of housing for middle class workers for years.
“I've been doing this a long time, and the increasingly steep competition for medium-range properties is a reality we just can’t ignore: our agents are making offers on behalf of middle-income clients on four, five, six different houses, to no avail.” Not only is it a frustrating experience for would-be homeowners, he notes, but many of them are having to live well over an hour away from their place of work, which puts a great strain on the health and well-being of workers, their families and the environment. The issue snowballs, he adds, when businesses move out of state because they can’t find the workers they need where they are located.
At an NAR conference a few years ago, Wilson, who also serves as Government Affairs Director of the 9,500-member Southland Regional Association of REALTORS® (SRAR), voiced his concerns about middle class housing access to Holly Moskerintz, NAR’s Community Programs Outreach Manager. She told him about two REALTOR® Party programs designed to help his local association explore solutions to the problems the region was experiencing; through these, SRAR was able to offer an Employer-Assisted Housing course, and sponsor a Workforce Housing Forum called "Housing Our Workers," in early February 2017.
The back-to-back events were part of an overall plan to educate REALTORS® and the public, and to motivate them toward a plan of action, says Wilson. The four-hour Employer Assisted Housing course attracted nearly 50 REALTORS®, who learned out how to form a team and contact employers to discuss how they can offer home buying guidance and financial assistance to their employees. The Housing Our Workers Forum, held the following day, was funded in part by a Housing Opportunity Grant, and was co-sponsored by the Valley Economic Alliance and BizFed Institute.
This day-long event was free and open to the public, drawing more than 200 participants from the community. Its packed program included hardship testimonials from workers who travel great distances from home to work in Los Angeles; remarks by Scott Syphax of Nehemiah Corporation of America, a California-based social enterprise and real estate development firm; and a keynote speech by Ben Metcalf, Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. The heavy lifting took place in six breakout groups focused on Labor Partners, Social Benefits, Government Partners, Neighborhood Advocates, Public-Private Partnerships and Traditional & Creative Financing. Each of the forty panelists in these sessions was asked to respond to three questions: How did we get here? How can my agency contribute to an increase in housing options? and How can I be personally responsible for helping the cause? The results of each breakout group were tabulated and presented to the whole assembly via PowerPoint following the morning and afternoon sessions.
The Housing Our Workers forum garnered significant press coverage in the massive southern California market, raising awareness of the workforce housing shortage—and the REALTORS®' efforts to address it. The principal goal of the forum was met, as well, reports Wilson: “We brought representatives of all stakeholder groups to the table, to hear each other’s side and engage in civil discourse regarding the need for more middle class housing in Los Angeles.” Now that they’ve identified commonalities, he says, they can build on them. Looking ahead, as they work to overcome differences, learn to compromise, and continue to listen to each other and share ideas, SRAR will be there, meeting the affordable housing challenges in its region.
To learn more about how REALTORS® are working to create more housing for the Los Angeles workforce, contact Mel Wilson, Government Affairs Director the Southland Regional Association of REALTORS®, at (818) 534-2400 ext. 2424.
Optimism about housing market this year continues to grow
Fannie Mae’s January Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose to 82.7 in January, an increase of 2 percent from December, after five months of declining numbers.
Compared to January 2016, the HPSI, which surveys around 1,000 Americans on housing, is up 1.2 percent. Additionally, more people feel it is a better time to sell, as that number rose from 13 percent in December to 15 percent in January.
However, the number of respondents who think now is a good time to buy dropped from 32 percent in December to 29 percent in January. Forty-two percent of Americans believe home prices will rise, an increase of 7 percent from the previous month.
“Three months after the presidential election, measures of consumer optimism regarding personal financial prospects and the economy are at or near the highest levels we’ve seen in the nearly seven-year history of the National Housing Survey,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “However, any significant acceleration in housing activity will depend on whether consumers’ favorable expectations are realized in the form of income gains sufficient to offset constrained housing affordability. If consumers’ anticipation of further increases in home prices and mortgage rates materialize over the next 12 months, then we may see housing affordability tighten even more.”
More than two-thirds of respondents (69 percent) said they are not worried about losing their job, an increase of 1 percent from the December’s HPSI. Fifteen percent said their household income is “significantly higher” than it was this time last year, a 5 percent increase from December.
Compared to previous generations, millennials are less apt to move
In 2016, only one in five millennials had moved in the past 12 months.
This is a decrease from 2000, when 26 percent of young adults had moved in the previous year, as well as 1963, when, yet again, 26 percent of young adults reported moving the year before, according to a recent report from the Pew Center.
The Pew Center analyzed why millennials aren’t as apt to move. Most likely, it’s due to lack of funds, thanks to lower-paying jobs. In fact, most millennials who did move in 2016 did so for a job, the Pew Center reported. Student loan debt is also a huge part of millennials’ inability to get a mortgage, and purchase a home.
For those millennials that did move last year, 22 percent moved into a home they purchased. Comparatively, in 1981, 35 percent of young adults the same age moved into a home they had purchased.
There are also three main factors that separate millennials from previous generations. One of the top reasons is that less millennials are married at this age than previous generations. Today, 42 percent of millennials aged 25 to 35 live with their spouse. In 1963, 82 percent of those aged 25 to 35 lived with a spouse.
Millennials are also less likely than previous generations to own a home, only 37 percent live in an owner-occupied that isn’t their parents’, compared to 56 percent of baby boomers at the same age. Finally, millennials are less likely to have children at this age.
Despite not owning a home, thus making it easier to move, and not having children, many millennials are hesitant to move, thanks to lack of funds, high student debt and their inability to get a mortgage.
Fido does impact where pet owners live and how they renovate
Ninety-nine percent of those with a pet believe the animal is a part of their family, according to NAR’s 2017 Animal House: Remodeling Impact report.
And they are looking out for the whole family’s best interest when they search for a home. Sixty-one percent of households either own a pet, or are planning to get one. Twelve percent of pet owners have moved for their animal, and 19 percent said they would consider moving to better accommodate their pet. Nearly one-third of pet owners have not put an offer on the house because it was less than ideal for their animal.
And of those that own a pet, 61 percent said it’s difficult to find a rental property or homeowner association that allows animals. Ninety-five percent reported that they think living in a housing community that allows pets is important. Sixty-two percent said it is important to have animal-friendly amenities, like a walking path, animal store or animal grooming, near their residence.
On the other hand, more than two-thirds of Realtors® surveyed reported that owning a pet has an effect when listing a home. They suggested owners should replace anything that has been damaged, clean the home to remove any scents and take the pet out during showings as the top three ways to avoid negative feedback from potential buyers.
Homeowners are also remodeling to accommodate their pets. More than half (52 percent) of pet owners completed a home project to better serve their pets’ needs. Twenty-three percent added a fence to their yard, 12 percent added a dog door and 10 percent added laminate flooring. Ninety-four percent reported they felt “satisfied” with their remodeling. Of those who remodeling, 44 percent paid a professional, while 56 percent completed the project themselves. Realtors® also reported that more than 90 percent of homebuyers with a pet want a fenced yard.
Nearly 90 percent of households would not give up their pet for a residence.
“In 2016, 61 percent of U.S. households either have a pet or plan to get one in the future, so it is important to understand the unique needs and wants of animal owners when it comes to homeownership ” says NAR President William E. Brown. “Realtors® understand that when someone buys a home, they are buying it with the needs of their whole family in mind; ask pet owners, and they will enthusiastically agree that their animals are part of their family.”