Ever wonder what candidates and/or offices they hold get what amounts of money via lobbyists for the National Association of Realtors (NAR)? We did, and were rather shocked at how easy it was to get the goods. Score one for transparency, but not by the Association making it obviously accessible on their site’s landing page. No, we actually scored the information by sources designed to keep politicians honest and by that same token, keeps the NAR honest.
Did you know that in this current election cycle the National Association ranks number seven as a political contributor? It’s true that in this current cycle, the NAR has already kicked out a whopping $6.3 million. And folks, that’s nothing in comparision to it’s overall contributions made since 1989 at $83.9 million. And brace yourself… we’ve even given (D-MA) Barney Frank over $72k making NAR a gift from the heavens as his largest contributor. The real estate industry as a whole has loved him long time with a rough total of $763k. Each contribution may sound small, but in the scope that these amounts pertain to a single local campaign, these numbers are significant.
Many people hate the conversation of politics, and wonder what it has to do with real estate, and I can answer that question in a lump sum total, ready for this? The Real Estate industry combined (commercial, residential, and the lot) has contributed over $1.1 trillion dollars since 1989 to political campaign interests.
So, if you’re curious if the Association is currently running against your own personal candidate, here’s how you find out. The information is there if you really really want it, but you may or may not like what you find. We’ve only been using the site for a short time, but we’ve discovered a wealth of information.
Because all real estate is local, we suggest that you go and explore what campaigns NAR is funding and let us know in comments what you discover.
All data is according to InfluenceExplorer.com.
