Realtor Day at the Capitol 2024

Spencer Huey, Jeff Parmer, David Higginbotham, Anna Batten and Joe Wiley Mitchell attended Realtor Day at the Capitol in Montgomery as the Silver Sponsor on February 13th, 2024. This impactful event was sponsored by the Alabama Association of Realtors. We were able to hear presentations by many leaders of our Alabama government including the House Majority and Minority Leaders, the Alabama Treasurer, two Alabama Supreme Court Justices, the Commissioner of the Public Service Commission Leader as well as the President of the Alabama Banking Association and the President of the Alabama Homebuilders Association. Young Boozer, the Alabama Treasurer, spoke about the current economic climate in Alabama. David Higginbotham noted that it’s clear that the Realtors – our prime customer base – continue to have a powerful voice in Montgomery. Spencer Huey remarked, “It was a great opportunity to mingle with people that we do business with on a daily basis and to get to know them on a more personal level. Our association attendees were well received by the Alabama Realtors Association President, Senia Johnson and CEO Jeremy Walker.

Not too surprising to us, we learned that 2023 had the lowest home sale transactions in Alabama since 1995. We also learned that although Alabama’s unemployment rate is below three percent and is lower than surrounding states, our workforce participation rate is only 57 percent – meaning 43 percent of our citizens are not even seeking work. The legislature is considering actions such as a Child Care Tax Credit to incentivize folks to return to the workplace.

After hearing these great presentations, Spencer Huey and Anna Batten, visited Cynthia Almond, House Representative District 63, Tuscaloosa and Representative Ed Oliver, District 81, Dadeville in their offices. Cynthia Almond is a closing attorney and agent in Tuscaloosa. From the Senate Gallery, Spencer and Anna also observed members of the Senate debate a bill. Senator Sam Givhan, District 7, Huntsville, another real estate attorney in our industry, was on the floor at the time. The day concluded with a cocktail party at the Alabama Association of Realtors’ building which is within walking distance of the Capitol. Mark Davis, our Member Highlight this month, joined us there. There were lots of Realtors from throughout the state as well as Alabama Senators and Representatives attending.

Our goal as an association is to get involved with other state associations that directly affect our business. By doing so, we are able to gauge current business trends and goals as well as develop relationships that create synergies for our industry and give our title industry a greater voice in the process. We all agreed that it was a great first step for our association to support and make its voice heard at the Alabama Association of Realtors’ Lobby Day event.