As Congress and the new Obama administration consider additional initiatives for the remaining $350 billion to be spent under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the National Association of Realtors® is continuing its push for a comprehensive strategy that it says will stimulate home sales, prevent foreclosures, and restore confidence in the housing market. Meanwhile, the Flagstaff housing market appears to be picking up: At least in the lower price ranges, buyers are taking advantage of low interest rates, first-time home buyer incentives from last summer’s housing stimulus law, and well-priced bank-owned properties. Still, we in Flagstaff have a long way to go to clear out the amount of inventory available for sale.
“The housing sector is at the core of the current economic crisis,” NAR President Charles McMillan said in the Association’s recent press release. “A renewed, revitalized and robust housing market is essential to generating commerce and helping families build wealth and stability. We are eager to see this happen and look forward to working with the Obama administration and Congress to quickly implement housing stimulus efforts.”
NAR supports Chairman Barney Frank’s proposal, H.R. 384, the TARP Reform and Accountability Act, introduced earlier this month. This bill contains key components of NAR’s Housing Stimulus Plan, including enacting a mortgage buy-down program to reduce interest rates below prevailing rates, increasing foreclosure prevention and mitigation efforts, and providing more liquidity to the residential and commercial mortgage markets to ensure that financing is available.
NAR has pushed to refocus the TARP to end the credit crisis and jumpstart mortgage lending. “It is imperative to get TARP back on track by targeting funds for mortgage relief, which will help lower mortgage rates and reduce foreclosures for hundreds of thousands of people,” said McMillan. “We are pleased that eliminating the repayment feature of the first-time home buyer $7,500 tax credit will be addressed in this proposal. However, we still are working to have the credit expanded to all home buyers, and to extend the program through December 31, 2009. NAR is also working to ensure that any stimulus legislation reinstates the higher 2008 mortgage loan limits for FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These actions will have a meaningful impact on the housing market and will help protect home values,” McMillan said.
NAR’s Housing Stimulus Plan includes both legislative and regulatory fixes. Its focus includes keeping mortgage interest rates low, boosting home buyer confidence, and reducing the current foreclosure rate. It also asks that regulators be encouraged to help financial institutions resolve problems in the short-sale process, make it easier for servicers to modify existing loans, remove unreasonable underwriting guidelines and insist that credit reporting agencies correct errors promptly. |
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