PAR Priority Bill to Take Effect

PAR’s successful 2023-2024 legislative session was capped by the passage of its priority bill, Senate Bill 1173 (Stefano, R-Fayette), which addressed residential wholesaling.  
 
Realtor® members from across the commonwealth had urged PAR to act on the practice by making calls to the PAR Legal Hotline, reaching out to members of the Legislative Committee and speaking at the PAR Legislative Feedback Panel. PAR’s Legislative Committee responded by creating a task force to draft recommendations to address the topic and ultimately directed staff to draft legislation and work with the legislature to enact law.  
 
Under the leadership of PAR Legislative Committee Chair and District Vice President Glenn Yoder, the committee elevated the task to priority status, which signaled the association’s urgency to address the issue.  
 
PAR’s advocacy department worked to identify a legislator to serve as its prime sponsor. This legislator needed to be a Realtor® champion and have the passion, clout and team to statutorily define and address wholesaling, which did not have a formal definition prior to 2024. Chairman Pat Stefano (R-Fayette) of the Pennsylvania Senate’s Professional Licensure Committee heeded the call. His legislation, amplified by hundreds of Realtors® who participated in PAR’s 2024 Realtor® Day on the Hill, helped SB 1173 break through the first divided government in 14 years. It went through the entire legislative process and was sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro in a total of 28 session days, receiving the positive vote of every legislator except for one.  

Ultimately becoming Act 52 of 2024, SB 1173 opened up Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Licensing Law to define the term “wholesale transaction” and require those who conduct wholesale transactions to be licensed by the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission. Additionally, the bill spelled out a series of disclosures that need to be given to buyers and sellers who may be involved in wholesale transactions.  
 
Act 52 will go into effect on Jan. 4. In preparing for the new law, PAR is hosting a webinar featuring staff from the law and policy and advocacy departments who will discuss the law change, required disclosures and frequently asked questions. Register online for the webinar, which will be held on Jan. 8 at 10 a.m.  

Review more information on our wholesaling resource page.