The National Association of Realtors has nearly 1.3 million members, and spent more than $32 million on lobbying in 2017. The group opposed changes to the mortgage interest deduction that are now in effect under the new tax law.
NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall told Realtor.com that the group “achieved major improvements to the tax legislation passed in Congress, and from here, our work continues to improve that law and ensure, as Congress turns to housing finance reform, that there are no negative impacts on the country’s homeowners.”
The NAR, one of the largest and wealthiest lobby groups in the U.S., emerged from the recent tax overhaul hobbled and humbled. Now, the coming debate over the government’s role in backing mortgages for most Americans will test whether it can regain some of its clout in Washington politics.