Legislative Session Recap
The 2026 Legislative Session has officially ended, and the Washington REALTOR® advocacy team's hard work paid off. Throughout session, the team was vigilant and engaged on some heady policies related to housing and taxation. They started session at a sprint and kept that pace all the way through Sine Die on March 12, in support of your business and the real estate industry in Washington.
Here’s the status of our defined priorities:
Rural ADUS: HB 1345, Support
Passed: EHB 1345 establishes balanced regulations for detached accessory dwelling units in rural areas, addressing housing demand while protecting unincorporated regions.
Residential Uses in Commercial Zones: SB 6026, Support
Passed: E2SSB 6026 opens commercial and mixed-use zones for residential development, creating new opportunities for housing growth.
Ensuring Public Marketing of Residential Listings: SB 6091, Support
Passed: SSB 6091 promotes fairness in the housing market by requiring real estate brokers to market residential property to the general public and all other real estate brokers, except as necessary to protect the health or safety of the owner or occupant
Incentivized Stacked Flats Condominium Construction: HB2304, Support
Passed: HB 2304, now signed into law, removes barriers for condominium development, encouraging more affordable housing options.
Do No Harm
On the revenue front, WR worked to remove a provision in HB 2442 that proposed a local real estate excise tax increase, or REET 3, subject to a vote of the people. We opposed SB 6211, which would have removed voter approval for local REET 2, which ultimately did not pass.
There was also a great deal of focus during the 60-days on a state income tax, ESSB 6346. Washington REALTORS® opposed this bill, while also working to clarify that real estate sales, held for over 12 months, would not be counted as income under this legislation – both for commercial and residential real estate sales. The language we added to 6346 reinforces and extends the prior exemptions from the capital gains tax that REALTORS® achieved in 2023.