The Metropolitan Council
Hear from Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle! St. Paul Area Association of REALTORS® is inviting MAR members to join this virtual event on Monday, September 21 to learn about the Met Council’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan initiative. Click here to register today!
COVID-19 housing assistance available
The City of Minnetonka and Intercongregation Communities Association (ICA) still have emergency assistance funds available to help renters impacted by COVID-19. Visit minnetonkamn.gov/rent-assist to learn more and apply. Please review the program guidelines before applying. Contact ICA to learn more about their valuable resources.
Hennepin County and the State of Minnesota also offer emergency assistance to renters and homeowners impacted by COVID-19. Help for higher income households is now available via the state’s COVID-19 housing assistance program. You can apply and receive help multiple times. Visit hennepin.us/housing-help to learn more and apply online.
Washington Report – 8/26
Updated FAQ Document for Housing Provider Questions
NAR’s policy team recently updated our housing providers FAQ page. You can view it here.
Overview: Housing providers have special considerations when it comes to their residents. How they can protect them? What precautions should they take? How they can insure the building is protected and sustainable. This FAQ answers those questions.
Overview of COVID-19 Lost Wages Assistance Program (Trump Executive Order)
NAR’s policy team put together an overview that includes recent Department of Labor (DOL) guidance on how President Trump’s unemployment executive order impacts states. You can view it here.
Overview: On August 8th, the President signed a Presidential Memorandum, “Authorizing the Other Needs Assistance Program for Major Disaster Declarations Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” creating the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program. The purpose of this memorandum and this new program is to provide additional supplemental federal support to individuals receiving unemployment benefits, including regular unemployment compensation under state law and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which expanded unemployment to independent contractors. The CARES Act provided Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), an additional $600 per week, for claimants for weeks of unemployment from March until July 2020; however, those benefits expired on July 31, 2020.
Realtor.com® Announces New Flood Risk Tool
On August 26, 2020, realtor.com® rolled out a new property listing feature called Flood Factor™, an online flood risk visualization tool developed by the First Street Foundation. Realtor.com is the first to integrate a feature like this enabling consumers to access comprehensive flood risk information specific to each individual property, including the FEMA flood zone and a risk score between 1 (minimal risk) and 10 (extreme risk). During a search of realtor.com®, users can now access this flood data along with other filters, such as Schools, Noise, and Crime.
NAR has developed a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Sheet to help members field questions from customers about Flood Factor™ data.
Existing-Home Sales Continue Record Pace, Soar 24.7% in July
Existing-home sales continued on a strong, upward trajectory in July, marking two consecutive months of significant sales gains, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Each of the four major regions attained double-digit, month-over-month increases, while the Northeast was the only region to show a year-over-year decline. View the full release here.