May 2025

Weekly Report for May 30, 2025

NYSAR to submit testimony before NYC Council against proposal delaying sales
NYSAR is preparing to submit formal testimony before the New York City Council in opposition to Int. 902, which would establish a right of first opportunity to purchase for qualified entities, prior to a building with 3 or more units being listed for sale. If enacted, the bill would, severely impair the ability of REALTORS® and other licensed real estate professionals to effectively and efficiently serve consumers looking to buy and sell multifamily properties in New York City. Property owners of these buildings would be required to notify HPD at least 180 days prior to actions taken to sell the building. Once the notice of sale is provided, the bill would establish a 120-day waiting period in which qualified entities may submit offers to purchase the building, during which time, the property owner may not accept any other offers. Read more here.

Opposition against REST Act grows as legislative session winds down
Housing providers and landlords continue to push back against efforts to expand rent control statewide with about 10 days left this legislative session. NYSAR is supporting these efforts by urging lawmakers not to pass the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants Act (REST Act) which would permit localities to use public data to demonstrate a housing emergency and forego a study, and determine the size and age of buildings covered under limited rent hikes. While housing affordability remains an important issue, NYSAR believes this legislation is not the answer and will harm small property owners. Read more here.

NYSERDA makes $25 million available for clean energy commercial projects – applications due July 31
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will be awarding $15 million through its Building Cleaner Communities Competition (BCCC) for carbon-neutral design and construction projects in new construction and existing buildings. The program is open to all projects, though it prioritizes incentives for projects located within low- to moderate-income communities to reduce emissions and improve quality of life. In addition, NYSERDA announced the seventh round of the Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Carbon Challenge, which makes $10 million available to provide incentives toward new construction or existing building renovation projects designed to achieve carbon neutral or net zero energy performance. The deadline for applications for both the C&I Carbon Challenge and the Building Cleaner Communities Competition is July 31 at 4 p.m. Read more here.

Weekly Report for May 23, 2025

U.S. House passes federal tax bill including key priorities for REALTORS®
On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a federal tax bill that implements several REALTOR® priorities. Significant changes to the bill are still possible however as it moves to the Senate. The bill permanently increases the qualified business income deduction from 20% to 23%, providing tax relief to more than 90% of REALTORS® who are independent contractors or small business owners. It also quadruples the state and local tax deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 for households earning under $500,000. The bill makes the current individual tax rates permanent and indexes them for inflation, and it preserves and makes permanent the mortgage interest deduction. The legislation also protects Section 1031 like-kind exchanges and leaves business SALT deductions intact for most real estate professionals. Read more here.

NYSAR continues push for REALTOR® priorities as session winds down
This week, NYSAR staff met with Assembly counsel and committee staff to discuss advancement of REALTOR-supported legislation that would require written buyer representation agreements, as well as other bills to increase the number of years of experience to become a broker (S.5426/A.7691), to prohibit long-term listing agreements, limiting them to up to two years (S.6361-A/A.5886-C), and a requirement for real estate licensees to complete 1 hour of anti-sexual harassment training each year (S.5780/A.8092). The State Legislature is scheduled to complete its work on June 12 and NYSAR is pressing for passage of these bills prior to the end of session.

Democrat Sam Sutton wins special election for State Senate
On Tuesday, May 20, Democrat Sam Sutton won a special election for State Senate defeating Republican Nachman Caller to replace Democratic State Senator Simcha Felder who resigned last month to take a seat on the New York City Council. Read more here.

Weekly Report for May 16, 2025

Draft Federal Tax Bill shows Positive Signs for REALTORS® and Homeownership
On May 12, House Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee released draft text of their portion of federal tax reform legislation which provided positive steps toward strengthening homeownership including an increase in the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to $30,000, an enhanced qualified business income deduction, and preservation of the mortgage interest deduction and 1031 like-kind exchanges. These provisions reflect REALTOR® priorities to help strengthen homeownership. The bill must undergo a formal mark-up and amendment process, while SALT negotiations remain ongoing, so details could change prior to any vote. Read more here.

NY’s $25 billion housing plan creates over 60,000 homes ahead of schedule
Governor Kathy Hochul announced a total of 350,000 housing units statewide have been built or preserved since 2021, while the state’s $25 billion housing plan is progressing ahead of schedule creating over 60,000 affordable homes toward the goal of 100,000 units. The Governor also announced the release of a new state Online Dashboard for the public to track the progress of the housing plan. Read more here.

NYSAR opposes new real estate transfer tax proposal
This week, NYSAR staff met with State Senator Sean Ryan and Assemblymember Didi Barrett to discuss their legislation that would give localities across the state the authority to establish a new real estate transfer tax to support a local community housing fund (A.331/S.572). While NYSAR appreciates the intent of the bill, we oppose the increase in taxation on the transfer of real property which only makes home buying less affordable. NYSAR will continue to monitor this bill. Read NYSAR’s memo in opposition here.

Weekly Report for May 9, 2025

Legislature passes 2025-26 State Budget – Additional housing funding builds on record 2024 investment, includes lead abatement program, and creates a Housing Access Voucher Pilot Program

On May 8, the State Legislature passed a $254 billion state budget following a months-long negotiation process. In the end, the enacted budget comes in at roughly $2 billion more than Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget proposal released in January and includes many of the Governor’s priorities including providing one-time inflation rebate checks, banning student cellphones in schools, changes to the state’s discovery law and paying down New York’s unemployment insurance debt.

Passage of this year’s state budget comes at the heels of NYSAR’s Lobby Day and includes significant funding for housing and new development, building on last year’s record investment of more than $650 million.

Additionally, several harmful budget proposals were scaled back or removed completely following NYSAR opposition. Included in this year’s budget is a new law establishing a 90-day waiting period for institutional investors before being able to purchase one- and two-family residences. The threshold defining an institutional investor was increased to include on those with $30 million or more in net value or assets rather than a proposed $5 million or more in net value or assets. A proposal to automatically enroll all residents into a non-solicitation registry if a cease-and-desist zone is established in the area was removed from the final budget. And the NY HEAT Act, which NYSAR opposes, was not included in the final budget.

Housing Budget Highlights

Provides $100 million for a Pro-Housing Supply fund for critical infrastructure projects necessary to create new housing, such as sewer and water infrastructure upgrades. This is in addition to the $650 million in state discretionary programs approved in 2024.
Establishes the Housing Access Voucher Pilot Program for four years to provide rental assistance in the form of vouchers for eligible individuals and families who are homeless or who face an imminent loss of housing – scheduled to begin March 1, 2026.
Provides $40 million for the Homeowner Protection Program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Allows building owners of certain New York City rental buildings with 100 or more units built after 1996 to convert them to condominiums while preserving affordable housing units.

Provides $20 million to support a lead abatement program for areas outside of NYC, administered through the state Housing Trust Fund Corporation.

Click here for a more detailed summary.

NYSAR continues to fight for telemarketing ban amendment
On May 6, NYSAR-supported legislation that would lift current restrictions on telemarketing business activities advanced out of the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee. The bill will now be considered in the Assembly Codes Committee before it can advance to the Assembly floor for a possible vote. NYSAR continues to engage state lawmakers advocating for passage of the bill alongside our coalition of business organizations. NYSAR will continue to provide updates on the status of this priority bill.

New York Republicans reject SALT changes in House tax bill
Reps. Elise Stefanik, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler issued a joint statement Thursday rejecting a House plan increasing the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions from $10,000 to $30,000, saying it is insufficient. The issue remains a key component of the federal tax bill which GOP House leaders hope to advance through committee next week. Read more here.

Business Council statement on Governor Hochul’s Announcement to Fully Fund the UI Debt
The New York Business Council provided the following statement after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she would be committing the necessary funds to make the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system solvent.
According to the council, following state-mandated business shutdowns in 2020, the number of UI claims rose so much that New York State and more than 35 other states had to borrow money from the federal government to cover the claims. In March 2021, UI debt peaked at $10.4 billion.
“Businesses across New York State are grateful to finally be relieved of this multi-billion-dollar burden that has served as an added tax on all our employers for the past four years. This debt cost businesses over $6 billion, removing the opportunity for many small employers to reinvest in their businesses or local economies. We appreciate Governor Hochul’s willingness to have ongoing discussions with the business community and for agreeing to make the UI fund solvent. We also thank the Assembly leadership for their continued commitment to the issue throughout this legislative session.”

Weekly Report for May 2, 2025

REALTORS® show up big on NYSAR Lobby Day in Albany
On April 29, hundreds of REALTORS® from across the state arrived in Albany for NYSAR’s annual Lobby Day to advocate for homeownership and expanding access to housing opportunities. NYSAR 2025 President Jacqie Rose provided introductory remarks alongside Lobby Day Keynote Speaker, State Senate Deputy Republican Floor Leader Anthony Palumbo who praised REALTORS® for their work and advocacy. NYSAR’s Leadership Team (President Jacqie Rose, President-Elect Ron Garafalo, and Treasurer Dan Staley) met with all leaders of the State Legislature (Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay) to discuss REALTOR® priorities and state housing issues. Click here to view NYSAR’s Lobby Day issues packet given to lawmakers.

NYSAR Lobby Day provides REALTORS® the unique opportunity to speak one-on-one with their state lawmakers in Albany through coordination with local REALTOR® Boards. As a reminder, reimbursement requests must be submitted by May 30, 2025. The Lobby Day expense reimbursement form can be found here. Thank you to all the REALTORS® who attended Lobby Day this year.

NYSAR Lobby Day sees immediate results
In the days immediately following NYSAR Lobby Day, one legislative priority bill passed, and two legislative priority bills were introduced. NYSAR-supported legislation expanding tax incentives statewide for the development of vacant properties into housing (A.787/S.7285) has now passed both houses of the Legislature and awaits Governor Hochul’s consideration. Additionally, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon introduced an Assembly companion bill that would require sexual harassment prevention training for all real estate licensees in the state (A.8092/S.5780); and Assemblymember Grace Lee introduced an Assembly companion bill that would prohibit long-term residential listing agreements (A.8120/S.7499). Both bills had sponsors in the Senate but were not yet introduced in the Assembly.

REALTORS® file legal challenge against NY’s revised freshwater wetland regulations
NYSAR joined a coalition of business organizations in filing a legal challenge Wednesday in State Supreme Court against New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) updated freshwater wetlands regulation (6 NYCRR Part 664), which went into effect in January 2025. The petition challenges the process utilized by DEC to adopt the revised rules, as well as for its imposition of unconstitutionally vague and “arbitrary and capricious” regulatory provisions. It also highlights the argument that the new DEC regulations are overly restrictive and undermine the state’s goals to create more housing. NYSAR will continue to provide updates on this issue.

NYSAR-supported legislation combatting discrimination in home appraisals passes both houses
The Senate and Assembly passed legislation (S.7320/A.6869) prohibiting discrimination based on protected classes when conducting real estate appraisals or making real estate appraisal services available. The bill also allows for fines up to $2,000 for violations with a portion of those funds being directed to the state anti-discrimination in housing fund. NYSAR supports this legislation, which now awaits Governor Hochul’s consideration.