The Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) is heading to the Statehouse this week to promote its agenda aimed at increasing real estate sales across the state. There are seven items on the agenda ranging from statewide zoning reform to opposing real estate transfer taxes, but not everyone is on board with the association’s proposals.

Passing Bill S. 94 is a high priority for MAR. The bill seeks to ease the production of cluster development housing, allowing in-law apartments and multifamily housing construction by right, and ease variance burdens and special permitting processes across the state. It’s currently in the Senate Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association has a big problem with the state usurping municipalities’ control in the zoning process. In a letter to the Joint Committee on Municipal and Regional Government last month, MMA executive director Geoffrey Beckwith outlined several of that organization’s “significant concerns” with a House version of the bill.

“We believe that any reform to state zoning laws must contain strong protection of local decision-making authority, and we strongly oppose ‘by-right’ language that would override zoning bylaws that have been established by citizens and their elected and appointed leaders,” Beckwith wrote.

Beckwith also cited concerns that the proposed changes could increase the cost of housing in some communities.

MAR President Paul Yorkis said he thinks the MMA should support the bill because, if passed, it would mean more tax revenue for the cities and towns the organization represents.

“I’m not sure the MMA really speaks for all of the 351 cities and towns in the commonwealth,” Yorkis said. “Maybe they do. The cities and towns I’m familiar with are struggling for tax revenue. New residential construction is way down. How do you get that up to meet demand? You need more multifamilies and more open space residential construction. MMA is also asking for more state revenue to come to the communities. We certainly want healthy communities with a variety of housing stock. We want communities where municipal employees can find homes in the community. Supply and demand is out of balance and we’ve got to address it.”

Savings Accounts For Homebuyers

Currently in the Joint Committee on Revenue, S. 1507 would allow people saving for a down payment on a house to deposit up to $5,000 per year into a special account and claim it as a deduction on their income tax. Yorkis said this initiative is particularly important in Massachusetts, where the number of first-time homebuyers entering the market is down even more than it is nationally.

“We’re trying to identify ways that allow for more first-time homebuyers to enter the market and there are a lot of forces working against them right now, like student debt and the high cost of real estate,” Yorkis said. “We’re trying to make it a little easier for them to purchase a home.  We need a good set of tools and this is one of those tools. Rates are low, but it doesn’t mean they’ll stay low.”

Neither the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation nor the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center have taken a position on the proposal. Still, with fiscal year 2017 state tax revenue falling hundreds of millions of dollars short with just one month to go, offering more deductions to would-be homebuyers could be a tough sell. Especially when homeowners with mortgages can already deduct the interest they pay on their loan from their federal income tax – a significant savings for most homeowners.

Room Occupancy Tax Expansion

MAR also opposes several bills that seek to expand the scope of the hotel tax to include short-term vacation rentals of homes, condominiums and timeshares.

Yorkis said a person renting their home for short period of time is a different animal from a business like a hotel or a motel and shouldn’t be subject to the same taxes.

A person who owns a home in the Berkshires (or Cape Ann or Cape Cod or Boston) “may be renting the home out for 60 days during the tourist season and by doing that, they’re able to keep their home,” Yorkis said. “We’re not talking about people who own property solely to put it on Airbnb. We’re talking about an individual who owns a home. We want them to be able to keep their home and stay in that community. It sounds like they’re in competition with hotels, but we don’t think it is.”

The MMA came out in support of expanding the room occupancy tax in a statement last year, saying it would put homeowners in the business of renting their property on a level playing field with hotels and motels that are essentially doing the same thing – and collecting taxes.

“These private rental arrangements are rapidly increasing in number and are creating stiff competition for local tax-paying businesses,” the MMA’s statement said. “In fact, there were more than 1 million rooms available for rent internationally on Airbnb in December 2014, with analysts predicting that the number could triple by the end of [2016].”