The RASCW Affordable Housing & Equal Opportunities Committee is thrilled to have raised $15,000 for the local organization Movin’ Out through this year’s fundraising event, Kickin’ It With Forward Madison, a Madison Forward soccer game. Movin’ Out provides a range of safe, affordable, and community-integrated housing solutions to adults with disabilities and to families that include children with disabilities. Thank you to those who attended, our generous sponsors, and those who donated and purchased items for the silent auction - your support is so appreciated!

Click the image on the right for renewal and member benefits information, including a link to pay your dues online. Please feel free to contact us at RASCW@wisre.com or 608-240-2800 if you have any questions.

At their October 28, 2021 meeting, the RASCW Board of Directors elected Melissa Bjerke Markgraf, Stark Company, REALTORS®, President-elect, and Jeff Hoeye, Artisan Graham Real Estate, Treasurer. Melissa and Jeff, along with 2022 President Jean Armendariz-Kerr, will be installed into office in January making up your Officer Team for 2022. Details for Installation 2022 coming soon!

The goal is to address the shortage of housing for Wisconsin’s workers, and to provide tools to address homelessness. This package of bills include, among other changes, a sales tax exception on building and landscape materials to lower the cost of construction, removes regulatory barriers to workforce housing approvals, provides the Department of Administration more power to address homelessness, creates grants for housing navigators that connect individuals to housing, and requires local governments with 50,000 or more people to use portions of the federal stimulus money to improve and create affordable housing. The WRA provided to the leadership in the Assembly a number of ideas that the bill sponsors included in the bills. The Co-Sponsorship Memoranda that accompanied the bills specifically referred to the WRA’s housing report, Falling Behind: Addressing Wisconsin’s Workforce Housing Shortage to justify the need for more housing. All of the Co-Sponsorship Memoranda and Bills can be reviewed at: https://www.wpr.org/sites/default/files/housing_package.pdf.

As we come to the end of 2021, you should know that Realtors® have been leading the charge to create more safe and affordable housing options in Wisconsin.

November has been identified as Designation Awareness Month by the National Association of REALTORS®, which means now is the perfect time to grow your industry expertise and marketability through the completion of a REALTOR® Designation or Certification program. Here are some resources to get you started:

Our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of Mike Jiru who passed away on October 19, 2021. Mike was an active and dedicated Affiliate member for 30 years serving as the chair of the Membership Social/Networking Committee during all those years. He received the Affiliate of the Year award in 1994 and the Cindy Strange Pay It Forward Award in 2019. Click here to view his full obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/madison/name/michael-jiru-obituary?id=31211308.

NAR's FREE Commitment to Excellence Endorsement was created to raise the level of professionalism in the industry and to help agents increase their marketability and grow their businesses. REALTORS® who earn this endorsement will have also satisfied the Code of Ethics training requirement. Click the image below for more information and to get started!

Are you working with buyers who you think would benefit from learning more about the homebuying process? Click here to read about the Home Buyers Round Table (HBRT) 2021 Homebuyer Education Workshops, which provide information from industry experts about what's needed to successfully navigate the Road to Home Ownership. These free virtual sessions are being offered on Saturdays through the end of 2021 and qualify attendees for available Down Payment Assistance programs. Please reach out to HBRT with any questions!

Please mark your calendar and follow us on social media, in the Newsletter, and on the RASCW website to stay up to date on these UPCOMING EVENTS*: