{"id":23936,"date":"2025-10-02T20:38:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T20:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/?p=23936"},"modified":"2025-10-08T19:25:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T19:25:28","slug":"santa-fe-realtors-promote-diverse-housing-options-in-housing-strapped-region-2-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-2-4-2-2-3-2-4-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-2-3-2-2-5-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/homepage\/success-story\/or-advocacy1025","title":{"rendered":"Oregon REALTORS\u00ae Rally Public Support for Legislation Lowering Barriers to Condominium Construction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Serving the state that currently has one of the nation\u2019s lowest rates of homeownership, Oregon REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> has been working tirelessly to lessen statewide legislative barriers to housing development. With great effort, and the support of a governor who prioritizes housing, it has made great strides in past years; but in one sector \u2013 new condominiums \u2013 there was still work to be done.\u00a0 This past session, HB 3746 promised to smooth the pathway for the development of this more accessible housing type; strategic advocacy by Oregon REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> helped to make it law. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Condominium units are significantly under-represented in Oregon\u2019s housing inventory, their development having been thwarted by the state\u2019s mandated ten-year period during which a developer would be liable for construction defects.\u00a0 As Oregon REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup>\u2019 Policy Director Brock Nation explains, in other western states, this period is typically only six or seven years.\u00a0 \u201cHB 3746 was drafted to reduce risk for developers, in keeping with the neighboring norms in our region, but also included specific protections for consumers, such as requirements for three periodic special inspections.\u201d\u00a0 For the benefit of both sides, it also provided an \u2018opportunity for remedy\u2019 to prevent lengthy and costly litigation, while allowing for eventual litigation if necessary.<\/p>\n

Even before the session started, recalls Nation, the REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> got wind that the governor and her team were excited about this bill to help revive condominium construction.\u00a0 It had a contentious history, however, so they weren\u2019t taking anything for granted.\u00a0 \u201cThe bill was first introduced in 2019, and didn\u2019t move.\u00a0 Then Habitat for Humanity reached out to us a year and a half ago, and with their support and the support of Oregon Homebuilders Association, we updated it and brought it back along with a suite of other pro-homeownership bills.\u00a0 \u00a0Before long, we were joined by stakeholders like Zillow, local chambers of commerce, individual municipalities and the League of Oregon Cities, and a number of housing non-profits.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coalition relied on a study of construction defect liability laws conducted by the Common Sense Institute of Oregon, along with other key research, to craft messaging for a robust media campaign working with Soma Communications.\u00a0 It featured ads on Facebook and radio, with strategic geo-targeting around the capitol building. Testimony from constituents from across the state put faces on the need for increased condominium construction, and before both the House and Senate votes, the REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> issued Calls for Action through Advocacy Everywhere, spurring members to press for the bill\u2019s passage.\u00a0 The bill passed its initial hurdle in the House with a vote of 46-10.<\/p>\n

Jenny Pakula, Chief Executive Officer of Oregon REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup>, notes that this success highlights the importance of the connections between NAR, Oregon REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup>, and the state legislature. \u201cSometimes it feels like we\u2019re trying to turn the Titanic, but it is working:\u00a0 we\u2019re getting legislation passed and will be capitalizing on the momentum and attention we\u2019ve gained at the capitol to achieve even more for our housing goals.\u00a0 In the meantime, we\u2019re looking forward to the development that can now happen as a result of our efforts, and we\u2019ll keep looking for new groups to strengthen our coalition.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t do this without NAR.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about how Oregon REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> is working to promote legislative solutions to ease the housing crisis, contact Policy Director Brock Nation at\u00a0bnation@oregonrealtors.org<\/a> or 503.362.3645; or General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs Jeremy Rogers at\u00a0jrogers@oregonrealtors.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the heels of significant legislative advances for housing in recent sessions, Oregon REALTORS\u00ae kept up the momentum by backing a law that would bring the state statute of limitations on construction defect liability closer in-line with that of its western peers. Their latest legislative success will reduce barriers to building affordable condominiums and expand access to homeownership to more Oregon residents. Their effort got a big boost from the REALTOR\u00ae Party\u2019s Advocacy Everywhere program.","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,33,296],"tags":[655,1868,454,1825],"class_list":["post-23936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-us","category-success-stories","category-success-story","tag-advocacy-everywhere","tag-hb-3746","tag-oregon","tag-oregon-realtors"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23936"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24075,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23936\/revisions\/24075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}