When they say it takes a village, they could have been referring to Incline Village REALTORS® in northwest Nevada and its work in helping first-time home buyers.
On the north shore of Lake Tahoe, the town of Incline Village, Nev., is surrounded by beautiful scenery and ski runs—and some of the priciest housing in the U.S. The median sold price currently exceeds $2.2 million. Because of the shortage of affordable housing in the area, many people must commute nearly an hour each way—over an 8,000-foot mountain—to get to their workplace in the resort town.
Two-thirds of Lake Tahoe residents spend 30% to 50% of their income on housing, with 24% paying more than 50%, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Renters are also out of luck: Many don’t qualify for affordable housing or can’t find year-round occupancy. And while important resources and programs are available to help first-time home buyers, language difficulties (as 30% of the community is bilingual) and a lack of access are effective barriers.
IVR has nearly 500 members, and when association members saw the community needed help, the association rose to the challenge.
CEO Laura Ann Litynski-Vitencz, PMN, e-PRO; 2025 President Sean McDonald; and the IVR board worked together to secure a $25,000 National Association of REALTORS® consumer advocacy grant. That grant funded a bilingual workshop—also recorded and available online—that provides practical resources for first-time home buyers.
During the workshop, “Breaking Down Barriers for First-Time Homebuyers,” listeners learn about the homebuying process, the mortgage process, home insurance, banking, title, how to repair your credit score, financial assistance programs, finding an agent and IVR services.
“Each topic [started as] a barrier or question posed in the planning stages of our workshop that consumers needed help with or needed resources to address,” says Litynski-Vitencz. “The resources and answers are provided in the videos and through the materials attached under the video.”
The IVR Planning and Diversity committees collaborated on the project, which included inviting affiliates to provide refreshments and serve as speakers alongside association leaders and members. Vendors created the videos, website and advertising. Meanwhile, 175 IVR members received continuing education credits for completing training focused on ethics, fair housing and contracts to work with consumers in the community and prepare project resources.
Thirty people attended the bilingual first-time home buyers workshop, and hundreds have viewed the videos online, according to the association.
The impact is continuing to ripple. IVR leaders engaged membership by sharing these resources and further broadened their impact by communicating with PAC, local and state leadership, including a conversation with Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. Meanwhile, IVR and NAR are jointly working on providing these resources on a national level and supporting legislation to help first-time home buyers in Washington, D.C.
IVR also received a $23,400 consumer advocacy workforce grant from NAR this year to bring additional bilingual resources to employers and employees directly in their workplaces, thanks to 2026 IVR President Kristina Mattson. And in April, another $7,500 NAR housing opportunity grant funded a housing forum where real estate leaders, stakeholders and community leaders—including Nevada Association of REALTORS®, the Resort Alliance and three local REALTOR® associations from around Lake Tahoe: IVR, Sierra Nevada REALTORS® and South Tahoe Association of REALTORS®—could form partnerships and continue the discussion of how to solve the region’s housing challenges.
“When NAR can assist the local community, it has a big impact,” Litynski-Vitencz adds. “This past year, we were the highest per capita investment association in RPAC in the state of Nevada. I am hoping that this support shows the value of NAR to our members and our consumers.”
