Greedy Realtors? Let’s Call Bullshit Bullshit.

Ever since Florida Realtors announced its support for Amendment 3, I've watched people go online and make the same tired accusation: “Of course Realtors support Amendment 3. They just want to sell more houses and make more commissions.” Come on. Let's call bullshit bullshit. I've been a Realtor for 35 years, and one thing I've learned is that it's very easy to attack an entire profession when you don't understand what that profession actually does.
Realtors don't just show houses, stick signs in yards and collect commission checks. Realtors across Florida spend enormous amounts of time, money and energy advocating for homeowners, property owners, buyers and communities, often on issues that will never result in a commission check for the Realtor doing the advocating.

Florida Realtors has fought for attainable housing. We've advocated for property insurance reform. We've fought to protect private property rights. We've pushed for property tax relief. We've supported programs designed to help working Floridians become homeowners. We've gone to Tallahassee and sat across from lawmakers advocating for issues affecting homeowners throughout this state. And we do a whole lot of that on our own time and our own dime. So when somebody says Florida Realtors only supports Amendment 3 because Realtors want another commission, forgive me if I don't buy it.

Who Fought for Florida's Hometown Heroes?

Let's talk about Florida's Hometown Heroes Housing Program. Florida Realtors has strongly supported this program because teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, veterans and other hardworking Floridians were increasingly finding themselves unable to afford homes in the communities they serve. The program provides zero-interest down-payment and closing-cost assistance to help eligible Floridians become homeowners.
Florida Realtors didn't oppose that assistance because it might cost the government money. We advocated for it. Why? Because helping working people achieve homeownership is something Realtors believe in. Florida Realtors has continued pushing lawmakers to fund and expand Hometown Heroes so more Floridians have an opportunity to own a home.  That's advocacy.

Realtors Fight for Homeowners Long After the Closing

Florida Realtors' advocacy agenda goes far beyond helping somebody buy a house. Property insurance is one of the biggest affordability problems facing Florida homeowners today, and Florida Realtors has spent years pushing for reforms designed to improve availability, affordability and consumer protections. We've advocated for private property rights. We've advocated for attainable and workforce housing. We've advocated for reasonable property taxation. We've advocated for condominium owners. We've advocated for programs that help first-time and working-class buyers. We've supported efforts to increase housing supply. We've fought regulations that unfairly restrict property owners. Nationally, the National Association of Realtors advocates on housing supply and affordability, private property rights, fair housing and expanding access to homeownership.
Why? Because that's what our profession is connected to.

Does Getting Paid for Your Profession Make You Greedy?

Here's the part of this argument that really gets me. Police officers get paid to enforce the law. Does that make them greedy? Firefighters get paid to fight fires. Does that make them greedy? Teachers get paid to educate our children. Does that make them greedy? Nurses get paid to take care of sick people. Does that make them greedy? Electricians get paid when your electricity stops working. Plumbers get paid when your toilet is overflowing.
Roofers get paid when your roof needs replacing. Attorneys get paid to represent their clients. Doctors get paid to treat their patients. Nobody finds any of that controversial. But apparently, if a Realtor gets paid when somebody hires us to help them buy or sell one of the largest financial assets they'll ever own, we're greedy. Give me a break. This is our profession.  We get paid for doing our jobs just like everybody else does. And here's an important difference I keep pointing out:

Using a Realtor is optional. Property taxes aren't.

If you think Realtors are overpaid, don't hire one. Sell your house yourself. Buy your next house without representation. Nobody is forcing you to use a Realtor. But try opting out of your property tax bill and see how that works.

Why Would Realtors NOT Want More People to Own Homes?

There's another part of this criticism that makes absolutely no sense. Yes, Realtors want people to buy homes. Of course we do. That's supposed to be some kind of scandal? I want teachers buying homes. I want firefighters buying homes.  I want police officers buying homes.  I want nurses buying homes. I want electricians, plumbers, restaurant workers, mechanics and small-business owners buying homes. I want young families buying their first homes.I want renters becoming owners. I want people accumulating equity and creating generational wealth. I want our children to have the same opportunity to own a piece of America that previous generations had.  If wanting that makes me a “greedy Realtor,” I'll wear the damn label. Because the alternative scares the hell out of me.

The alternative is a Florida where increasingly only wealthy individuals, corporations and investors can afford to own real estate while working and middle-class families become permanent renters. One group owns the assets.
Everybody else pays them rent. One group accumulates appreciation and generational wealth.  Everybody else helps pay for it.  That's not the future I want for Florida.

Real Estate Isn't the Enemy of Florida's Economy

Real estate is woven throughout Florida's economy. A home sale isn't just a Realtor earning a commission. Think about everything surrounding one transaction. Mortgage lenders. Title companies. Inspectors. Appraisers. Surveyors. Insurance agents. Contractors. Roofers. Electricians. Plumbers. Movers. Painters. Landscapers. Furniture stores. Appliance companies. Home improvement stores. Attorneys. Local businesses.  And yes, government itself benefits when real estate changes hands.  Property ownership changes can result in reassessment under Florida's property-tax system, meaning the next owner's taxable value may be dramatically different from that of a longtime homesteaded owner.  So when people talk as though making homeownership more affordable somehow automatically destroys government revenue, they're ignoring the other side of the economic equation. A healthy housing market generates enormous economic activity. People buying homes, improving homes, building homes, selling homes and investing in communities create economic activity throughout Florida.  You don't strengthen Florida by making homeownership so expensive that ordinary people can't participate.

What About Police, Firefighters and EMS?

Every time property tax relief is proposed, somebody immediately reaches for the emotional nuclear button.

“What about the police?”
“What about firefighters?”
“What about EMS?”
“What about teachers?”

I support every one of those essential services. And interestingly enough, Florida Realtors has spent years advocating for programs designed to help those very same workers afford homes. So don't tell me Realtors don't care about firefighters while we're advocating for programs to help firefighters become homeowners.  Don't tell me we don't care about teachers while we're fighting for housing programs designed to help teachers afford to live in the communities where they teach.  The question isn't whether we need essential government services.  Of course we do.  The question is whether homeowners should be treated like an unlimited ATM every time government wants more money.  Those are two completely different questions.

Government Has a Responsibility Too

Families have budgets. Businesses have budgets.  When expenses get too high, families cut spending. Businesses look for efficiencies. They ask what they can eliminate, postpone, renegotiate or do differently. Government should have to ask those same questions.  I've posted example after example of questionable government spending and waste. And every time somebody points out one of those examples, someone responds, “That's only a small percentage of the overall budget.”  Fine.  Find another small percentage. Then another. Then another. Eventually those small percentages become real money. Before telling homeowners that government can't possibly survive with less property tax revenue, I think taxpayers have every right to ask whether government has done everything possible to eliminate waste and operate efficiently. That's not anti-government. That's accountability.

Realtors See the Affordability Crisis From the Front Row

This is the part critics miss. Realtors aren't sitting in some corporate boardroom studying theoretical housing affordability. We're sitting at kitchen tables with real families. We see the first-time buyer who qualifies for the mortgage until taxes and insurance get added to the payment. We see the family that has to lower its price range. We see people abandon the neighborhood they wanted. We see parents realize they can't afford the school district they hoped their children would attend.  We see buyers move farther and farther away from their jobs because that's where they can still afford something. And sometimes we watch them give up completely. That's why Realtors talk about affordability. Not because we're rooting for higher commissions. Because we see what's happening.

So Yes, Florida Realtors Supports Amendment 3

And I make absolutely no apology for supporting it too. I believe Florida homeowners need property tax relief. I believe Florida needs continued insurance reform. I believe we need more attainable housing. I believe we need to protect private property rights. I believe government should operate efficiently before automatically asking taxpayers for more. And above everything else, I believe homeownership should remain attainable for ordinary Floridians.

You can disagree with Amendment 3.
You can challenge the numbers.
You can debate how local governments should be funded.
You can debate how much relief homeowners should receive.
That's fair.
That's what elections are for.

But if your entire argument is, “Florida Realtors supports it because Realtors are greedy,” you're avoiding the actual issue. For decades, Realtors have been advocating for homeowners, buyers, property rights, insurance reform, attainable housing and programs that help working people become homeowners. We're not perfect. No profession is. But don't confuse earning a living with greed. A teacher isn't greedy for collecting a paycheck. A police officer isn't greedy for collecting a paycheck. A firefighter isn't greedy for collecting a paycheck. And a Realtor isn't greedy because we're compensated when somebody voluntarily hires us to help buy or sell real estate.  I've spent 35 years helping people buy and sell homes.  I've watched what homeownership can do for a family.  I've watched people build equity, financial security and generational wealth.  I've also watched families struggle desperately to hold onto their homes.  And today I'm watching the dream of homeownership move farther away from too many working Americans.

That's why I'm speaking up.
That's why I'm supporting property tax reform.
And that's why I'm voting YES on Amendment 3.

Using a Realtor is optional. Property taxes aren't. Homeownership should not be reserved for the wealthy.

VOTE YES ON AMENDMENT 3.