Max Vogt, the owner and designated broker of Centralia’s Windermere Real Estate office, wants you to thank a realtor.
“If you enjoy the right to purchase, own and sell real estate in this country with reasonable taxation and regulation, you need to thank a realtor,” Vogt said Thursday. “This is what we do.”
The Lewis County Chapter of Washington Realtors met at Lintott-Alexander Park in Chehalis around Thursday for its annual chili cook-off and to rally support for a powerful lobbying group: the Realtor Political Action Committee (RPAC).
As he spoke about the importance of RPAC and the policies it advocates for, Vogt revealed that RPAC spent $42.3 million last year on “protecting private property ownership in our country.”
“There is no other group in this country that does what RPAC does specifically for us,” Vogt said. “Nobody else has the incentive to raise that kind of money to protect us from overtaxation, regulation, (business and occupation tax) increases. Every kind of control of your transaction, as well as for the owners and sellers of real estate.”
According to Vogt, RPAC has also had a significant role at the state level advocating against tax hikes that could impact the real estate industry. The political action committee will continue to do so, he said.
Washington state has long faced housing supply challenges, with concerns over how to construct more homes being a constant topic of debate in the state Legislature.
Echoing Vogt’s sentiment, Clark County Association of Realtors President Anthony Stroud, a major broker in the Vancouver area, urged local realtors to invest directly in RPAC.
“When you go and you're meeting with your clients, you're able to tell them exactly what he talked about, where we're keeping taxes down, affordability,” Stroud said.
He also shared his experiences working with RPAC in the past, including a recent visit to Washington, D.C., and highlighted the opportunities investment in RPAC provides realtors to speak directly with lawmakers.
“So RPAC is definitely something that you want to invest in,” Stroud said. “Again, you get your voice out. You're representing your community, and you're able to let your legislators know what your community's cares, concerns and wants are.”
RPAC was a major supporter of a recent bipartisan federal housing bill, which at one point was delayed by President Donald Trump, but was passed into law nonetheless. The bill passed with overwhelming support. It became law without Trump’s signature.
The bill included a range of changes but notably limited the number of single-family homes a corporate entity can own and attempted to streamline building by setting preapproved home designs.
Learn more about the Lewis County Chapter of Washington Realtors at https://www.facebook.com/LCCWR/. Learn more about RPAC at https://www.nar.realtor/rpac.
