Fresh off a major legislative victory, National Association of REALTORS® advocacy leaders gathered at the 2026 Government Affairs Directors Institute in Columbus, Ohio, to discuss what’s next for the association’s advocacy agenda and how government affairs directors can capitalize on that momentum.
NAR 2026 President Kevin Brown opened the session by celebrating the recent passage of the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, landmark legislation that reflects years of sustained advocacy by NAR’s lobbying team and state and local REALTOR® associations.
“The legislation will provide new resources to build more homes, streamline federal processes, and delay construction, modernize federal programs to expand home ownership opportunities and improve access to credit,” Brown said. “I was honored to testify before the Senate Banking Committee and voice NAR’s support for this bill.”
Brown emphasized that the legislation demonstrates the impact of coordinated advocacy at every level and thanked GADs for the critical role they played in advancing NAR’s housing priorities.
Advocacy leadership then outlined the association’s priorities for the rest of the year. Senior Vice President of Strategy and Advocacy Operations Helen Devlin moderated a discussion with Senior Policy Advisor for Federal Finance and Housing Policy Elayne Weiss, Vice President of Advocacy Communications and Outreach Patrick Newton, Vice President of Government Advocacy Joe Harris, and Director of Legal Advocacy Caitlin Vannoy.
The panelists shared updates on policy including how the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will be implemented and NAR’s support of the More Homes on the Market Act, legal wins, and grassroots initiatives and grant programs that support state and local associations.
Harris and Weiss stressed that implementation of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is not immediate and will take time. “As much hard work as it took to get this bill across the finish line, it’s going to take that much more work to implement it, and so we’re talking about years of implementation ahead of us. This is not going to be immediate,” Weiss said. “There are some provisions that we’re going to be able to feel in the next year or so, but this is going to be a lot of work where we’re going to be having to weigh in at every opportunity.”
“So, now it’s all about making sure that we’re working again with the administration and with Congress and implementing a lot of the policies that are in the bill,” Harris added.
The discussion also reinforced how collaboration between NAR and its state and local partners continues to drive meaningful policy outcomes, including legal advocacy wins that protect property rights, expand housing opportunities and strengthen communities nationwide.
Caitlin Vannoy used NAR’s recent legal advocacy win in Massachusetts as an example.
“In Massachusetts, there was a ballot measure to oppose the strictest rent control a country would have seen. We got that overturned, and not just with the legal advocacy efforts, but along with the grassroots efforts and the support of NAR and the Massachusetts REALTORS® really being a driving force to show how harmful that rent control policy could have been for the state across the board. You know that that is a really good example about how multiple tools were used,” Vannoy said.
The session wrapped up with a live Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to engage directly with NAR’s advocacy leaders. As implementation of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act begins, leaders emphasized that the partnership between NAR and state and local REALTOR® associations will remain critical to turning legislative victories into lasting housing solutions.
