F
acing persistent budget pressures, local officials increasingly turn to NAR members for expertise on housing policy and consumer advocacy. At the NAR NXT event in Houston, participants heard how state and local budgets are being reshaped.

    The State and Local Issues Roundtable, led by REALTOR® Party Community Engagement Liaison James Cristbrook, focused on the tight spots in budgeting and how NAR members can stay involved. The session opened with Houston mayor‑pro‑tem and District K councilmember Martha Castex‑Tatum, a lifelong resident and REALTOR®, who compared the city’s budget to a household plan: “You must set priorities, but sometimes the money isn’t enough.” She highlighted weather‑related disasters—winter storms, floods, fires—as major budget drains, noting Houston has faced eight federally declared disasters recently.

    Erica MacKellar, program principal for fiscal issues at the National Conference of State Legislatures, closed the roundtable. She outlined how legislatures nationwide are tackling deficits, including exploring new revenue streams such as taxes on digital advertising, cryptocurrency mining, and other untaxed digital services. Cristbrook expressed confidence that as these policies surface, REALTOR® associations will lobby lawmakers to defend pro‑housing interests. A recent example is Rhode Island’s “Taylor Swift Tax,” a proposed levy on non‑year‑round occupied properties. The Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® opposed the measure, arguing the housing market should not be used to balance the state budget.