MAR to Push for Transfer Tax Alternatives on Beacon Hill
In less than two months, hundreds of Realtors from across the commonwealth will gather under the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House. Here’s what we’ll be calling for.
New Year, New Housing Policy Choices on Beacon Hill
Gov. Maura Healey’s housing bill boldly proposes a huge increase in affordable housing spending and equally needed policy reforms. But one provision, a transfer tax, would set Massachusetts back.
Artificial Intelligence Creates a New Frontier for Real Estate
Real estate professionals now have myriad new tools that can be used to assist in day-to-day business activities and help streamline work, leading to more effective agents.
Pyrrhotite: The Mineral That Could Be Threatening Our Foundations
Since a testing grant program was established in 2019, it appears that one or more additional quarries could also be contaminated, and the problem’s full scope is still hard to see.
SJC Decision Knocks Back Frivolous Abutter Lawsuits
Justices made clear that 40B developments were covered by a provision of Housing Choice meant to deter anti-development abutter lawsuits, and set boundaries on how it could be used.
Mass. Faces Dire Challenge from Housing Shortage
We like to think there is no better place than Massachusetts, a recent report shows we are losing ground quickly to other, cheaper states.
Mass. Can Unlock New Housing but Must Reject Rent Control
For the first time in many years, housing production policy in Massachusetts is moving in the right direction. Now, we need to double down on policies that work, not adopt policies counterproductive to housing production.
Pandemic Rental Aid Program Is an Incredible Success Story
Looking back, expansion of RAFT and creation of the Eviction Diversion Initiative demonstrated incredible foresight, leaving Massachusetts well-positioned to continue protecting housing stability for the foreseeable future.
Why Does Your Town Meeting Matter for Housing?
By sharing experience and expertise around housing and real estate, we can both elevate the quality of public discussion and favorably influence how our communities try to take advantage of the new Housing Choice zoning reform.
Mass. Should Pass Homebuyer Savings Bill, Implement Housing Choice
The benefits of home ownership to an individual and to a community are numerous and expansive, and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors is proud to support a state bill to help first-time buyers.
Engage in Town Politics to Grow Opportunity in Mass.
Earlier this year, the Housing Choice bill passed with robust support from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and a broad coalition of partners committed to enabling the creation of new housing across the state. Now, we must collectively turn our attention to realizing the opportunity before us.
New Hope for Housing Production
Increasing both the number and types of homes available across the state is a key component to ensuring that the state remains inclusive and thriving. A new law offers hope we will be able to do just that.
MAR Launches Mediation Scholarship Program
Inspired by the work of Attorney General Maura Healey’s office offering mediation of housing disputes during the pandemic, MAR has worked to develop ways to offer the services of trained Realtor mediators to assist in these efforts.
‘Welcome Home’ Plates Hit the Roads
For a lot of people, when you see a Realtor in the “community,” it’s often a photo of their face on a “for sale” sign, the side of a car or even a billboard. But if you know a Realtor personally, even just a little bit, then you know they are truly part of the community.
Transfer Tax Supporters Head Back to the ‘Well of Bad Funding Sources’
For as long as these sales taxes on homes have been proposed, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors has opposed them. The reasons for our opposition are always the same: Transfer taxes increase the cost of buying or selling a home.
MAR Elects New Officers
Massachusetts Realtors got a new slate of statewide representatives just before Christmas when the Massachusetts Association of Realtors installed its 2020 officers.
Living the Realtor Code of Ethics
The Code of Ethics is our touchstone, our standard and our guide. The Code of Ethics is one of the major differences that separate Realtors from real estate agents. It is 106 years old and has stood the test of time well.
Realtors Are not Just Experts – They’re Advocates
My Realtor “R” pin represents more than my day-to-day job. Something that many of my clients and neighbors don’t know is that it also stands for “Realtor Advocate.”
Understanding the Alphabet Soup of Realtor Designations
Finding the right Realtor with the best skill set to do the best possible job with the single largest investment that a consumer has is no laughing matter. Ask your Realtor what the letters after their name stand for, but more importantly, ask them what they have learned.
This is ‘Who we R®’
Here are the Massachusetts Association of Realtors 2019-2020 legislative priorities that we advocated for at our 34th Annual Margaret C. Carlson Realtor Day on Beacon Hill on June 12.
