Realtors chime in on Amend. 1

Realtors are taking a stand in support of Constitutional Amendment No. 1, which will appear on the Nov. 19 ballot in Louisiana.

Those in the profession of selling property have come forward in support of the measure, which, if approved, would prevent the state, any parish, municipality or subdivision from imposing any new tax on the sale or transfer of homes and real property.

“We are proud to stand up for consumers and support this amendment,” Louisiana Realtors CEO Malcolm Young said. “We think passage of the amendment will be a positive development for residential and commercial real estate customers, and good for the overall real estate market and economy.”

Bayou Board of Realtors President Debbie Chauvin said the ballot measure is one that requires a vote opposite of what one might think when casting a ballot.

“We are spearheading a big campaign to educate the public,” Chauvin said. “It is confusing, because you are going to have to vote for no transfer tax and it will be ‘for’ or ‘against’ on the ballot.”

Chauvin said that this measure is written in such a manner that in order to be against any added tax, one needs to vote in favor of a transfer tax on the amendment.

“We don’t need a real estate transfer tax,” Chauvin said. “It is just going to be another charge when you purchase a piece of property. This is not good for first time home buyers. It is not good for people doing investment properties. And we are going to do what we can to get this Constitutional Amendment passed. When people see tax they want to vote against it. So we have to educate them to vote for the transfer tax.”

According to Young, a 1 percent real estate transfer tax would result in 5,556 fewer homes being purchased in Louisiana. It would also place the price of many homes outside the market value price range.

No one opposed to Constitutional Amendment No. 1 could be located for comment by deadline.

State legislators gave unanimous support of the measure going to public vote during their past regular session. If Constitutional Amendment No. 1 does pass, Louisiana would become one of 38 states to impose the real estate transfer tax.