HURON — Two local realtors, Angie Uttecht, Broker/Owner of Ace Realty and President Elect of the South Dakota Association of Realtors, and Laurie Smith, past President of the Huron Board of Realtors, were among more than 9,000 Realtors from across the country gathered in the nation’s capital recently for the 2018 Realtors Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo.
The group is committed to continuing its work with Congress and the administration to advance policy initiatives that strengthen the ability of Americans to buy, invest, own and sell real estate.
Along with other South Dakota Realtors from across the state, Uttecht and Smith met with the State’s congresspeople, Representative Kristi Noem and Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds, to discuss topics important to the real estate industry — to help ensure the rights of homeowners are protected and that more people can realize the dream of homeownership. 

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act and Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, spoke to the realtors stating, “There has been a lot of progress since the signing of this historic legislation 50 years ago. Growing up in Detroit, where I experienced the struggles of discrimination first hand, I am inspired by the steps made to expand housing equality for Americans.
“HUD recognizes there is still so much work to do and feels strongly that in today’s society  no one should have to worry about having a roof over their head based on their racial or sexual background,” Carson said.
Realtors also advocated support for several important legislative initiatives, including strong net neutrality protections to ensure the internet is open and competitive for consumers and businesses; renewing and strengthening the long-term viability of the National Flood Insurance Program; indexing homeownership tax incentives for future inflation and permanently extending the tax exclusion on mortgage debt forgiveness; and adopting sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in the Fair Housing Act.
The National Association of Realtors is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. South Dakota has nearly 1900 Realtor members.

COURTESY PHOTO
From left, Laurie Smith and Angie Uttecht at a the 2018 Realtors Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo in Washington D.C.