Real estate agents from across Vermont, including Kyle Kirshner, broker and owner of Killington Pico Real Estate, met with members of Congress on May 7th to advocate for private property rights, fair and affordable housing, and the American Dream. sued a homeowner.
Kyle Kirschner is the federal political coordinator for Senator Peter Welch for the National Association of Realtors and led the meeting with Senator Welch. The primary focus of the meeting was to present solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Vermont and across the nation. Addressing housing affordability starts with increasing the nation’s very limited stock. Kirschner said America is currently short 5.5 million housing units due to a construction stagnation that has lasted for over a decade.
Kirshner and his advocacy group urged Congress to support a bipartisan housing bill that would provide tax credits to builders who build or renovate affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents, as well as builders who build affordable rental housing.
“We are also calling on Congress to double the capital gains tax exclusion on the sale of a primary residence to free up existing inventory,” Kirschner said. “When you sell a home, there is no capital gains tax on the first $250,000 if you are single filing, or the first $500,000 if you file jointly. This limit has been in place since the policy’s inception in 1997. Real estate prices have risen substantially since then, but the exemption limit has never been adjusted. The problem is that many older Americans who might be ready to downsize to a smaller home or move to a retirement community are hanging on to their homes to avoid paying huge taxes on what is, for many, their most precious retirement nest egg. Raising the exclusion limit and tying it to inflation going forward could free up thousands of homes to fill the inventory gap.”
Real estate agents also shared several other ideas for increasing access to homeownership with lawmakers and met with staffers for Rep. Becca Balint and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who have already championed important affordable housing issues in their first year in office.
