The U.S. Congress and the White House must work together to enact a new housing stimulus package to boost the economy
The National Association of Realtors® has submitted a four-point plan to lawmakers in Washington, D.C., that includes consumer-driven provisions that go beyond the economic stimulus law enacted earlier in the year.
Our association fully supports this plan because it will help home buyers and sellers here in and contribute to a nationwide economic recovery.
The plan proposed by the Realtors® would eliminate repayment of the temporary first-time home buyer tax credit that lawmakers established this year and expand the credit to all home buyers, make the increased FHA and conventional mortgage loan limits that will expire at the end of 2008 permanent, focus the economic stabilization efforts on supporting the housing and mortgage markets instead of providing capital to banks with no strings attached, and permanently prohibit large banks from entering real estate brokerage and management.
NAR research indicates that reducing mortgage interest rates, combined with removing the home buyer tax credit repayment, would reduce national housing inventory by 10 percent and would produce modest home price gains of 2 to 4 percent. Such price gains would add $760 billion in housing equity for the nation’s 75 million homeowners. Certainly, there would be meaningful benefits in our own market.
There is no question – there cannot be an economic recovery without a stabilized housing market. Congress and the new administration need to act immediately to help families protect their homes, savings and futures.
Realtors® here in Philadelphia are joining Realtors® from across the country to ask members of Congress for quick action to end the nation’s housing and economic crisis and direct government help to America’s families.
The U.S. Treasury and Congress need to work together to ensure that the American people benefit from the economic recovery plan. The Treasury Department has gotten off track by focusing too much attention and stimulus money on Wall Street and banks that are in turn using the money for mergers and acquisitions. The administration needs to get back to the original intent of the plan – stabilizing the mortgage and housing markets – to help families avoid foreclosure.
It is clear there can be no economic recovery without a stabilized housing market. As Realtors®, we see firsthand the impact that an unstable housing market is having on communities like ours. There is no time to waste.
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