Housing Now Coalition and the Say Yes to Housing! Public Education Campaign

HOUSING NOW COALITION

RANW has spearheaded a coalition of business stakeholders across Northeast Wisconsin including local builders associations, local chambers of commerce, economic development groups, and other business and trade organizations who have come together to raise public awareness of the current housing crisis and to advocate for creative solutions to provide more housing for everyone. The coalition has a dedicated Facebook page and dedicated website that will provide the public with additional information and resources regarding the housing crisis.

SAY YES to HOUSING! PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN

• www.housingnowcoalition.com 
• https://www.facebook.com/HousingNowCoalitionNEWI 
• https://instagram.com/housingnowcoalition?igshid=MzRIODBiNWFIZA== 

$525 Million Housing Inventory Investment Approved

Gov. Tony Evers signed into law five historic bipartisan bills that will increase workforce and senior housing inventory in Wisconsin. Additionally, late last night, the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved $525 MILLION to fund these loan programs.
These loan programs offer financing tools to grow workforce and senior housing to allow funding for:

• Residential infrastructure development
• Rehabilitation and repair of older housing stock
• Updating of dilapidated units above main street commercial spaces
• Conversion of vacant commercial properties for workforce housing

These five bills are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help spur housing inventory increases throughout Wisconsin. For more information on these transformational laws, please click HERE.

Wisconsin Housing Bills Advance

May 18, 2023 was a huge day for housing in the state legislature. Both the Assembly and Senate Housing Committees heard all WRA legislative priorities relating to fixing the housing crisis. Special thank you to Wisconsin REALTORS®, Tina Bunker and Tim Roehl who joined WRA's Executive Vice President, Tom Larson in testifying before the committees to speak on the merits of the bills.

• SB 296/AB 266, authored by Senator Stroebel and Representative Krug - relating to judicial review of local government decisions. This bill affectionately known as the NIMBY bill, increases certainty and predictability in the development-approval process.
• SB 297/AB 267, authored by Senator Stroebel and Representative Penterman - relating to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) program to fund low-interest loans for the rehabilitation of certain residential properties created under 2021 Wis. Act 221.
• SB 293/AB 264, authored by Senator Quinn and Representative Armstrong - relating to residential infrastructure revolving loans to provide funding for streets, sewer, water, sidewalks, etc. to service new residential development.
• SB 294/AB 265, authored by Senator Jagler and Representative Hurd - relating to main street rehabilitation revolving loans to help repair and rehabilitate residential rental housing above an existing building with a commercial use on the main floor.
• SB 295/AB 268, authored by Senator Feyen and Representative Summerfield - relating to vacant commercial-to-housing conversion revolving loans to fund the redevelopment of vacant commercial buildings into new residential workforce housing.

Congratulations on a job well done to REALTOR® Senator Romaine Quinn who was featured on WisconsinEye Newsmakers: Make More Workforce Housing. Senator Quinn, along with fellow REALTOR® Representative Rob Brooks, have been instrumental in the bills being drafted and brought forward to the Wisconsin legislature. Watch the two-minute promo HERE.
Learn more about WRA's legislative priority to address the housing shortage HERE.

REALTOR® Government Day 2023

Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend REALTOR® Government Day 2023! Northeast Wisconsin had great representation with 75 members joining the 600+ agents from around the state who descended on the state capitol to advocate for real estate industry.

Legislators from Northeast Wisconsin heard real life stories and examples that lie behind some of our biggest legislative priorities, including:

• Fixing the Housing Crisis
• Maintaining the Cap on Property Tax Levies
• Improving the Customer Service Experience at DSPS
• Keeping the Sales Tax Exemption for MLS databases

This was a great kick-off to our 2023-2024 legislative session. Please stay tuned for updates from WRA on our progress with these legislative priorities!

Check out the Government Affairs News page for updates HERE!

On September 26th, at the Fox Cities Housing Strategy Forum, almost 100 attendees from a broad range of housing and community stakeholders who attended left the event with a new perspective on our housing challenges in the Fox Cities, prospective solutions to those challenges and a growing sense of shared commitment to working collaboratively on a regional basis. Watch the video HERE!

Another Successful REALTOR & Government Day!

On February 9th nearly 300 REALTORS® from around the state gathered for WRA's annual REALTOR® & Government lobby day in Madison. Thank you to everyone for taking time out of your busy schedules to further our advocacy mission!

As part of this day, RANW members met with legislators and their staff in the Assembly Parlor of the capitol to discuss four issues WRA is currently working on: Workforce Housing; Homeowners Associations; 40-Yr Expiration of Access Easements; and Foreclosure Equity Theft. You can view the complete talking points on these issues here. Once again, REALTORS® demonstrated the collective strength and influence the industry has in shaping laws and public policy that affects home ownership and property rights in Wisconsin. Watch the recap video HERE!

FREE RANW Fair Housing Brochures

RANW is pleased to offer Fair Housing brochures created and co-branded with NeighborWorks Green Bay! The printing of the brochure was made possible with a Fair Housing Grant by the National Association of REALTORS®.
A PDF of the brochure is available on the RANW website and color copies are available for free to RANW companies. Brokers and office managers can request copies by contacting Jennifer Sunstrom at jsunstrom@ranw.org.
Click HERE to view the brochure.

Calling All Direct Givers

When should I send in my contribution? Well, today would be great! We are officially in RANW's Direct Giver Fundraising period. We ask that all members who have been Direct Givers, or wish to become new Direct Givers please send in your contribution now so that we are able to help candidates who are raising funds and campaigning for the November election. The WRA Direct Giver Program provides an alternative to an RPAC contribution for members who: 
-wish to retain full control and direction over who will receive their political contributions 
-wish to give personal contributions to candidates for local and state elections and at the same time benefit the REALTORS® Association
Direct Giver Process 
1. Solicitations: The minimum contribution is $100.00. 
2. Checks: Checks can be used and must be made to the WRA Direct Giver Program (not RPAC). Checks can be sent to RANW, W6124 Aerotech Dr., Appleton, WI 54914. 
3. Credit Cards: You may also pay on-line via credit card. Click here and login to the WRA site. Or you can call Jennifer at 920.707.9910 with your credit card information and she will take care of it. 
4. Control: Contributions to the Direct Giver Program are deposited in a separate bank account from RPAC contributions. Structurally, the WRA then acts like a bank, with disbursements permitted only with the explicit authorization of the contributor. That is, you retain full control on how your direct giver money is spent. 
5. Directing Contributions: Contributors may at any time direct their contributions, in whole or in part, to any candidate for local, state or federal office. When disbursing funds, contributors can email or call RANW or WRA to indicate how they wish their money to be distributed.