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The American Property Owners Alliance distributed nearly $10 million of over $12 million in grants in recent years to Republican-aligned political groups,
The Times analyzed APOA’s annual tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, and which causes the affiliate’s grantees supported. The largest grantee was One Nation, a nonprofit championing tax reform and restrained spending alongside opposition to critical race theory in schools, which received $7 million. APOA also gave $2.5 million to House Majority Forward, a progressive organization.
The APOA’s records are distinct from NAR’s Realtors Political Action Committee. The RPAC contributed over $3.7 million this past election cycle in a near-even split between Democrats and Republicans, according to Opensecrets.
Nonprofit lawyers who spoke with the Times suggested APOA’s spending could endanger the organization’s tax-exempt status, and a former local NAR president described Alliance as a “slush fund.” The Times also said dozens of agents from brokerages of various sizes nationwide were unaware of the APOA’s existence.
Formed in 2019, APOA’s mission is to “educate property owners about federal policies and advocate for owners’ rights and interests,” according to its website. It lists among its priorities housing affordability and taxation, and last month called for increased state and local tax deductions.
The Alliance in a statement Tuesday said it hasn’t made any grants to political organizations, nor have its funds been earmarked for political activity. A NAR spokesperson Tuesday also shared a lengthy rebuttal to the Times’ findings, suggesting APOA has acted transparently and in concert with its stated mission.
“APOA has an issues-based grantmaking process to organizations on both sides of the aisle,” the statement read. “Cherry-picking data can tell one story, but a holistic review of APOA giving reveals that its giving is split and changes from year to year based on current priorities.”
NAR also took issue with the Times’ misreporting that one of APOA’s grantees was a super political action committee. A spokesperson for the trade group said the error was published despite NAR sharing the correct group identification ahead of publication. The Times’ correction clarified APOA’s grantees were not PACs.
“The correction of this claim undermines the core premise of the article, as well as much of the third-party legal commentary provided for the article,” a NAR spokesperson said Wednesday.
Last year more than 70% of APOA grant disbursements were made to left-leaning organizations, NAR said. Its 2023 tax return was not available via the IRS.
The Times also reported NAR plans to use 40% of its expected $15.9 million in net revenue to fund APOA. NAR on Tuesday said APOA will receive a $6.6 million grant next year to fund its advocacy efforts, a number in line with the Times’ reporting.
“This is a planned expense that is vetted through NAR’s governance channels and will be reported in our future expenditure disclosures,” a NAR statement read. “In no way does this grant represent a disproportionate amount of NAR’s budget.”
The paper’s probe comes during a turbulent year for the trade group, which two weeks ago received final approval for a $418 million settlement to end litigation over commissions rules.
NAR last winter said it