Inside the WV Legislative Session: A REALTOR®'s Recap with WVAR CEO Ray Joseph
- marysol64
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Most REALTORS® do not spend their days at the West Virginia State Capitol. Ray Joseph does. As CEO of the West Virginia REALTORS® Association, Ray represents the industry in front of legislators, sits at the table when bills are drafted, and translates what happened in Charleston into something members can actually use back home.
He joined the most recent episode of Raising the Bar with EPBR to do exactly that, and the conversation covered everything from real estate's $15 billion footprint in West Virginia to the bills that passed, the ones that did not, and the buyer agency fight that is still ahead.
Real Estate Is a $15 Billion Industry in West Virginia
Before getting into specific bills, Ray made the case for why the industry deserves a seat at the legislative table in the first place. The numbers come straight from National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun.
"Every time someone gets a real estate license, it creates a new business. They're an independent contractor."
Last year there were roughly 472 new real estate licenses issued in West Virginia. Each one is a small business. Together, the industry, including buying, selling, lending, and appraising, is a $15 billion industry in the state and accounts for nearly 15% of West Virginia's gross state product.
For every home sold in West Virginia, on average about $82,000 of income flows into the economy through four channels:
Direct income: about $22,000. Commissions, appraiser fees, home inspector fees, and everything else paid to the people who actually move the transaction.
Furniture, paint, and home goods: about $6,000. New owners almost always spend on the property after closing.
Multiplier effect: about $14,000. Groceries, restaurants, car washes, movie theaters. New residents spending in the local economy.
New construction: about $40,000. For every six homes sold, on average one new home gets built. That share gets attributed back to each sale.
"If you buy a home, you're going to stay. It creates roots. And it builds roots that legislators want to see, that everybody wants to see."
That is the case Ray is making in Charleston, and it is the same case every Eastern Panhandle REALTOR® should be ready to make in their own community.
Dr. Yun himself will be at WVAR's quarterly meetings in June, with a private dinner ticketed at $500 a seat to benefit REALTOR® Relief.
What Passed: Three Wins for WV REALTORS®
1. The Universal Licensing Act
A bill introduced by the governor that makes it easier for licensed professionals, including real estate agents, who physically move to West Virginia (often because of a job transfer or military assignment) to keep working without restarting from zero.
"We don't want to slow down their ability to continue to make money."
To be clear, this is not reciprocity. Out of state agents still go through the standard licensing process. The bill is about reducing friction for people who are already moving to the state.
2. Senate Bill 369 — Bundled Rules
A massive rules bill that included real estate commission updates. Two changes stand out for working REALTORS®:
Yard signs. Brokers no longer need to put a physical address on yard signs. Name, comma, broker (and REALTOR® if applicable) is enough. Franchises with strict brand standards have been waiting on this one.
Facebook contests. The old rules required brokers to calculate odds and meet other tough standards before running social media giveaways. The real estate commission heard from enough members that wanted to run them, and the rule has been simplified.
3. Pulling Back the Physical Office Requirement
Two years ago WVAR supported legislation requiring an in state physical office to operate. The intent was to protect consumers from operators who were doing little more than dropping listings into the MLS for a flat fee with no real representation.
In practice it did not work. Some agents in border cities like Bluefield (where the West Virginia line literally runs through downtown) found themselves needing offices on both sides of the street. Others paid $50 a month for a token address they never used.
"It really didn't work. We agreed it wasn't working. We're just not sure yet how we're going to do that, since we thought we had a way, but it really didn't work."
The requirement has been pulled. The underlying problem, protecting consumers from cut rate listing only services, is still on WVAR's list to solve, just with a different approach next time.
What Did Not Make It (But Is Still Coming)
A Homebuyer Savings Account
Modeled on the 529 plans many parents use for college, a homebuyer savings account would let West Virginians set aside pre-tax income specifically for a down payment. Pull the money out for anything other than a home purchase and you owe the deferred taxes back.
The structure is intentionally targeted at first time buyers, with the standard rule that anyone who has not owned a home in three years (or who is coming out of a divorce or other major life event) qualifies again.
"If you buy a house, you're staying here. It's good for everyone."
The bill did not pass this session. WVAR will keep pushing.
Wholesaler Regulation
Wholesalers are operators who get a homeowner to sign a power of attorney or contract authorizing them to sell the property, without ever holding a real estate license or actually taking title. The seller often discovers at closing that the wholesaler is collecting significantly more than they were told the property was worth.
"It's a tough environment to be in as a REALTOR® to try to navigate that. You don't ever get to talk to the listing agent."
WVAR's proposed bill would have addressed wholesaling on the residential side (four units or fewer) while leaving commercial practice alone. It did not get on the docket in time. It will be back.
Buyer Agency in State Law
Before the 2024 NAR settlement, about 15 states had written buyer agency agreements into law. After the settlement, that number nearly doubled to 28. WVAR wanted West Virginia to join the list this session.
"We've been saying to do it for 20 years. So it wasn't about the settlement to us."
The bill ran into more opposition than expected and got pulled to regroup. But the underlying message Ray brought back from Charleston is the same one he brings to every membership meeting:
"It's really just like a listing agreement for the buyer. We would never engage with a seller without a listing agreement. And yet we do it with buyers all the time."
The Buyer Agency Conversation Is About Professionalism
The most striking part of the legislative segment was not actually about a bill. It was Ray's argument for why buyer agency agreements are a good thing for agents and consumers regardless of whether the law catches up.
"You have got to as REALTORS® treat yourselves as the professionals that you are. You are selling an expertise that they don't have."
The comparison Ray kept coming back to: an attorney would not represent you without an engagement letter. An accountant would not start your taxes without paperwork. An electrician would not wire your house on a handshake. Why should a REALTOR® be the only professional in the room without a written agreement before the work starts?
"I want you to know what I'm going to do for you. I want you to ask me all the questions you can because I want us both to have a great experience."
The agents who have leaned into this approach are reporting back that they like it. Compensation gets discussed up front. Expectations are clear. And the agreement protects everyone if something goes sideways later.
Marketing the Right Things
T
he conversation kept circling back to one observation: REALTORS® are often selling the wrong things in their marketing.
"Most consumers aren't sitting going, oh well, they're a Double Diamond producer. They're looking for the person they can make a connection with."
A few of Ray's practical takeaways:
Self promotion works best when it is not yours. Surveys, testimonials, and short client videos are worth ten Facebook posts about your own production.
Sell the buyer side. For too long the listing broker has compensated everyone, and the industry has forgotten how to articulate the buyer side value. That has to be relearned.
Small kindnesses scale. Ray's signature move, a box of candy and a business card handed to a drive thru worker, costs almost nothing and makes someone's day. People in McDonald's buy houses too.
"It's not going to work every time. But the investment is very small. Spend $100 a year, how many sales do you need to make that back?"
How to Stay Plugged In
WVAR has a leadership academy that is open to West Virginia REALTORS® who want to develop their skills and get a closer look at how the association works at the state level. EPBR also has its own local committee that follows legislative issues — a good entry point for members who want to be part of the conversation without traveling to Charleston.
For the full calendar of upcoming EPBR events, including CE classes, broker courses, and committee day, the events page is the place to start. And if you are not yet an EPBR member, the easiest first step is to become an EPBR memberand get plugged in.
The legislative session is one piece of a much bigger picture. The takeaway from Ray's visit is that the industry's voice in Charleston is loud, organized, and not going anywhere — and that the work back home in the Eastern Panhandle, building professionalism and trust client by client, is what gives that voice its weight.
"If somebody doesn't appreciate the value of what you offer, you need to feel good enough about what you do to walk away sometimes."
That is the standard Ray brought to Stonewall and to the Raising the Bar studio. It is the same one EPBR members are setting in their own service area, every day.
LINK REFERENCE LIST (use these URLs in Wix when hyperlinking the underscored phrases)
Raising the Bar with EPBR → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-the-bar-with-epbr/id1794328211
upcoming EPBR events → https://www.epbr.net/event-list
become an EPBR member → https://www.epbr.net/membership-epbr
Comments