Earlier this week the U.S. Senate passed an unprecedented $2 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package. The bill is now in the U.S. House and is expect to be signed by the President without any issues.

Self-employed and independent contractors have been anxious about the bill since talks began. It would not be the first time theses types of workers were left out of key economic legislation. As the majority of the nation’s realtors are self-employed or commission-based, they have been hit hard by the economic effects of COVID-19.

Just last week home buyer disinterest tripled; few are looking to buy a home right now and social distancing restrictions have made it difficult to attract new clients or show property.

Realtors want to do their part to stop the spread of the virus, but just like everyone else, they need support during this difficult time.

During the last several weeks, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been in constant discussion with lawmakers to ensure that these groups are taken into account for the economic relief package.

NAR Senior VP of Government Affairs, Shannon McGahn stated, “We have worked closely with Congressional leaders and the administration during the past several weeks to ensure all three bills bring relief to the self-employed, independent contractors, and small businesses. The real estate industry is responsible for millions of jobs and is key to our national recovery.”

The economic relief package includes $350 billion for the Small Business Administration 7(a) loan program. Under the terms, eligible small businesses, which in this case are those that have 500 employees or fewer, can receive up to $10 million toward mortgage interest, rents, utilities, and payroll costs. A portion of these loans will be forgivable.

In addition to relief through the loan program, self-employed and independent contractors will be able to take advantage of unemployment insurance benefits. This program could cover benefits for up to 39 weeks, a huge relief as many find themselves and their businesses suddenly devoid of cashflow.

This is the third relief package to be signed into law, with a fourth expected to be signed in the coming months. These are stressful COVID-19 times and no bill will ever be perfect, but some relief is on its way. 
 

President Trump announced Wednesday that the administration has ordered the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to suspend all evictions and foreclosures through April, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a White House press briefing, he stated, “The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing immediate relief to renters and homeowners by suspending all foreclosures and evictions until the end of April,” adding that they are “working very closely with Dr. Ben Carson and everybody from HUD.”

Under guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state and local leaders in many states have looked at the possibility of suspending evictions during the COVID-19 fallout, and looking at ways to insure both renters and property owners are protected.

Mass gatherings have been cancelled indefinitely across the nation, and most states have already shut down restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, and retail locations.

President Trump was asked during the press briefing to respond to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s statements on Tuesday (to Senate Republicans that unemployment could surge to 20% in a worst-case scenario), stating simply, “I don’t agree with that. That’s an absolute total, worst-case scenario.” Mnuchin reiterated the statement is only a depiction of the worst-case scenario.

HUD has not yet put out a press statement or offered commentary.

Fear and uncertainty remains high – many employees were sent home to work remotely, others to wait on more information regarding their employment status. It is likely that a huge swath of the nation won’t have any capacity to pay rent in coming weeks, perhaps months.

Congress and the Trump Administration continue to negotiate an economic rescue package to address business closings and layoffs, but no agreement has been reached yet.

In this time of uncertainty, one thing is certain – HUD won’t be kicking anyone out of their homes right now.

As we all embark on our New Year’s resolutions, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is making its own changes. This week, NAR leadership met in Washington where they unanimously passed a Fair Housing Action Plan, invigorating a commitment to provide Americans with fair housing opportunities. These members then met with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and other senior department officials to discuss the new plan and the issues surrounding fair housing.

The unfairness of fair housing is nothing new. In 2016, twelve percent of the discrimination complaints submitted to the HUD were based on familial status, raising complex issues proxying for racial discrimination and/or LGBTQIA individuals and families. The NAR has taken steps to crack down on discrimination by realtors, however, landlords don’t have the same repercussions at the federal level.

Per the recent meeting, the NAR and the HUD will work together to reinforce the new plan, ACT, to highlight (A)ccountability, (C)ulture Change, and (T)raining for 1.5 million REALTORS® (realtors licensed by the NAR) to uphold fair housing for all Americans. In a NAR press release further commitments in the plan are as follows:

• Ensure that state licensing laws include effective fair-housing training requirements and hold real estate agents accountable to their fair housing obligations;
• Launch a Public-Service Announcement Campaign that reaffirm NAR’s commitment to fair housing, and how consumers can report problems;
• Integrate fair housing into all REALTOR® conferences and engagements
• Explore the creation of a voluntary self-testing program, in partnership with a fair housing organization, as a resource for brokers and others who want confidential reports on agent practices so they can address problems;
• Create more robust fair housing education, including unconscious-bias training, and education on how the actions of REALTORS® shape communities.
• Conduct a national study to determine what factors motivate discrimination in sales market.
• Profile leaders who exemplify the best fair housing practices and workplace diversity.
• Develop materials to help REALTORS® provide consumers with information on schools that avoids fair housing pitfalls.

We can hope that with new energy between both the NAR and the government, Americans will find some relief in the housing market entering into 2020.