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A group of local Realtors recently took problems facing home buyers and sellers – as well as solutions to those problems – to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Leaders of the Bay East Association of Realtors attended the National Association of Realtors’ annual legislative meetings in Washington, D.C., joining real estate professionals from across the country to meet with elected representatives and advocate for policies to open more doors to homeownership in Pleasanton and across the country.
“Realtors don’t just help people buy and sell homes, we advocate for policies that make homeownership possible,” said Bill Espinola, 2026 president of the Bay East Association of Realtors. “When we go to Washington, D.C., we bring the real-life experiences of our clients in the Bay Area.”
The Bay East team met with staff from the offices of Reps. Lateefah Simon, Mark DeSaulnier and Ro Khanna.
Their top priority, and an issue that resonates with Pleasanton homeowners, was the “More Homes on the Market Act” legislation that would double the federal capital gains exclusion for home sellers.
Under current law, the tax exclusion hasn’t kept pace with rising home values meaning many long-term homeowners could face a significant tax bill when they sell. As a result, many choose not to sell at all, which keeps homes off the market and prices high.
Doubling the exclusion could make it feasible for more homeowners to sell, giving buyers more options.
Espinola said, “It was great sharing our approach to bring more homes into the market and showing how a federal tax policy can directly make a difference back home in Alameda County.”
The Bay East team also supported the “Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act”, which would raise the IRA withdrawal limit for first-time buyers from $10,000 to $50,000. The $10,000 cap was set in 1997 and hasn’t kept pace with increasing home purchase and downpayment costs.
During 2025, the percentage of first-time buyers in California hit a six-year low.
“We want to make sure first-time homebuyers, who are the foundation of a healthy real estate market, have access to funds like IRAs to kick-start their entry into homeownership,” Espinola said.
The Bay East leaders also addressed an ongoing challenge: getting and keeping homeowners insurance. One solution is House Resolution 1105, the “Disaster Resilience Act”.
“It gives federal grants and a tax credit for work to make homes safer like installing fire-resistant roofs, ember-resistant vents and even flood barriers,” Espinola said. “Homeowners insurance continues to be a problem, and it’s very costly. This will help mitigate some of the costs in order for homeowners to get their house insured.”
Following a meeting with Rep. Simon’s staff about the bill, Espinola said, “It’s a bipartisan bill she would look into a little bit further and possibly sign on to the bill. I think we got our homeowner advocacy points across and they were very well-received.”
While they were in Washington, D.C., Realtor advocacy on behalf of buyers, sellers and homeowners had a win when the Senate passed the bipartisan “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act”, which addresses the nation’s housing shortage, modernizes federal housing programs, improves access to mortgage credit and strengthens awareness of Veterans Affairs home loan benefits for veterans.
“During the last few years, our advocacy program has been very active at the local and regional levels. That said, our annual trips to D.C. are always impactful,” said David Stark, Bay East chief public affairs and communications officer. “With so much national attention on affordability and housing affordability in particular right now, we were very well-received. It was clear our congressional delegation wants to work on housing issues, and we arrived right on time.”
Editor’s note: Devin Davis is a public affairs specialist for the Bay East Association of Realtors, which is based in Pleasanton.
