Watchdog Report – December 18, 2025

Hello REALTORS®,

Your Association of REALTORS® made a major commitment to government affairs over the last several years.  NAR, SCR, and your Western Upstate Association of REALTORS® each devote considerable resources to help protect the interests of Realtors and property owners and help provide a level playing field for real estate activities.

We did score some wins, some of which I highlight below.  But it’s important to understand that sometimes the best outcome, when dealing with government, is no outcome at all.  For example, Anderson County has proposed nearly 30 new real estate related ordinances in the last 18 months.  Most of them have not been enacted, but three new proposals were taken up this month.

Our objective is always to understand the problem that government is trying to solve and help them solve it in a way that does not unnecessarily interfere with our members’ businesses, or add cost to consumers. 

NAR

NAR has had a very good 2025:

1. National Flood Insurance Program was extended through September 30, 2026.
2. WOTUS: A lawsuit supported by NAR argued that the EPA overstepped its authority under the Clean Water Act that kept an Idaho couple from building a home.  The US Supreme Court agreed, forcing the EPA to rewrite its regulations to be more sensitive to private property rights.
3. FHFA Rescinds Fee Increases: At NAR’s urging, because the proposed fee increases would harm housing affordability, the Federal Housing Finance Agency rescinded two proposed fee increases on mortgages.
4. HUD Reduced Mortgage Insurance Premiums: In another win for affordability in the face of rising interest rates, HUD reduced mortgage insurance premiums by 30 basis points.
5. Trigger Leads: The abusive practice of credit reporting agencies selling consumer data as leads to competing lenders, without the consumer’s knowledge or consent, has been stopped.
6. Under President Trump’s big beautiful tax bill:
   1. The lower individual income tax rates that were enacted in 2017 were made permanent.
   1. The qualified business income deduction (Section 199A), which 90% of Realtor members are eligible to use, was made permanent.
   1. Temporary (five-year) quadrupling of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, beginning with the current (2025) tax year. 
   1. Protection of business SALT deductions and 1031 like-kind exchanges.
   1. Permanent extension of the mortgage interest deduction.
   1. Certain key provisions from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit LIHTC legislation championed by NAR were made permanent.
   1. The Child Tax Credit will be increased to $2,200, which helps homebuyers with young families.
   1. The Estate and Gift Tax Threshold was increased to $15 Million.
   1. Restoration of the “Big 3” Business Tax Provisions:
      1. Full expensing of research and development.
      1. Bonus depreciation.
      1. Fixes to the interest expense deduction limit.
   1. Immediate expensing of certain industrial structure expenses used in manufacturing, refining, and agriculture.
   1. Carried interest rules preserved.
   1. Opportunity Zones were renewed and improved to target rural areas.

What Happened During the 2025 Legislative Session?

Your Association of REALTORS® is focused on several issues.  2025 was the first half of a two-year legislative session.  One bill has been enacted already, and several others are moving through the legislative process: 

1. Continuing Education Requirements for Nonresident Licensees (H.3947)—ENACTED.  Nonresident licensees can receive credit for continuing education they receive in other states, which helps facilitate reciprocal continuing education credits for South Carolina licensees who hold licenses in other states. 

2. PE Septic Soil Evaluations (H.3950)— Passed the House. Professional Engineers with additional training and certification will be allowed to perform soil evaluations on conventional septic systems. 
3. Domestic Violence in Rental Properties (H.3569)—Passed the House.  Tenants would be allowed to terminate a lease, without penalty, in certain circumstances. 
4. Property Tax Assessment Ratios (H.3841)—Passed the House.  Owner-occupied property would be allowed to continue to be assessed at the 4% assessment ratio until the end of the calendar year after the owner’s estate has been settled. 
5. Unlawful Occupants of Property (Squatters) (H.3387)—Passed the House.  Make it easier for property owners to remove squatters from their property. 
6. Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act (H.3021)—Passed the House.  Reduces regulatory burdens by requiring a 25% reduction in total regulations; prohibits agencies from enacting new regulations without explicit statutory authority; mandate that for every new regulation, two existing rules must be eliminated; and require periodic reviews and automatic expiration dates for regulations
7. HOA Foreclosures (H.3447)—Passed the House.  Protects consumers by providing reasonable notice requirements, and a court hearing, before a HOA can foreclose.
8. Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) (S.125)—Passed the Senate.  Provides a property tax exemption for nonprofit housing corporations based on economic ownership percentages and requires certification/rent records to be submitted to the Department of Revenue every year to verify eligibility for the credit.

What’s happening at the local level

Local government may be the most impactful for real estate—one of the most regulated industries in the United States.  What makes that regulation so impactful is its chaotic nature. 

Local governments, which are closest to the people, do most of the regulating.  In the Western Upstate, that involves 3 counties, 20 cities and towns, 8 school districts, and dozens of special purpose districts for government services like water and sewer.  In any given week, several of them will consider one or more real estate regulations—like Anderson County’s 30 ordinances in 18 months.  Fortunately, most don’t pass.

1. Impact Fees: We defeated an impact fee of $11,300 per house and $7,700 per apartment in 2022, but that has not stopped the call for these assessments that add to the cost of housing, usually without little to no accountability to those who pay them.  Some have been adopted, although in much smaller amounts.  Currently, Anderson County has initiated an impact fee study and Pickens County has resurrected a study they tabled in 2024.
2. Moratoriums: Like impact fees, moratoriums are a tale of wins and losses.  Unfortunately, moratoriums are becoming more frequent and often they are not done in compliance with state and federal law.   
3. Ordinance Updates: Impact fees, moratoriums, and many other actions that negatively impact real estate are largely the result of development and zoning codes that aren’t up to the task of regulating development.  They are also in response to pressure from voters.  All three counties in the Western Upstate are actively updating their development codes, and your association is involved in helping with many of those updates.

How can you help?

There are two important ways you can help:

1. Vote
2. Contribute to RPAC

RPAC is an important part of our association’s advocacy efforts.  Success hinges on the election of Realtor Champions.  My favorite quote, at least recently, is that there are two kinds of politicians, those who raise money, and those who lose. 

RPAC’s objective is to cooperate as an association to raise money for the campaigns of candidates who will champion Realtor issues.  If you haven’t already contributed to RPAC, click here to contribute.  Any amount will help.

Michael Dey, Director of Government Affairs