Clark County REALTORS® Beat the REET
Stop proposal in its tracks prior to November ballot

Local REALTOR® involvement helped put the pressure on in Clark County to stop an increase in the real estate excise tax (REET), a victory for REALTORS® in any county. Their victory will help to discourage the use of the REET in other counties, thus striking a blow for housing opportunity in not only Clark County but also the entire state.

REALTORS® there were at the table in a committee of broad-based interests, meeting to come up with a proposal to fund Clark County Conservation Areas (agriculture, forested and critical areas). Though REALTORS® objected to the idea of an increase of ¼ of 1 percent of the real estate excise tax, that proposal was agreed upon, and was sent to the County Commissioners as the committee recommendation, to take it to the vote of the people on November 4 this year.

REALTORS® did not accept defeat, however. They continued to raise objections to the proposal. "If it goes to the voters, we will be opposing it," said Clark County Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Director, Jessica Hoffman, to The Oregonian newspaper. "By increasing the real estate excise tax, we will further price out those who are on the cusp of getting to the door of a new home."

The proposed conservation real-estate excise tax would be paid by the homebuyer, which, Clark County REALTORS® explained to the Columbian newspaper, could squeeze first-time buyers out of the market. The buyer of a $150,000 home, both inside and outside cities, would pay $375. Sellers already pay 1.53 percent to 1.79 percent, depending on the city.

Hoffman provided the REALTORS® in Clark County with talking points against the proposal and members responded vigorously. The County Commissioners commented on the number of emails they received in opposition to the REET, with one expressing a real reluctance to attempt to fight the REALTORS® at all. Eventually, all three commissioners, after much REALTOR® input, agreed not to support an REET increase.

"We were not going to lose, that was my mindset," Hoffman explained. That determination paid off.

Knowing the anti-tax sentiment among voters in Clark County, REALTORS® did know they had a good chance of seeing the proposal defeated if it ever went to the ballot on November 4th.

By the time the proposal went to public hearing, the commissioners had decided not to use the REET for Conservation Areas. REALTORS® did offer their assistance in developing a more broad-based funding mechanism.