The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been an active voice for homebuyers and real estate industry professionals. Some recent changes and considerations are showing that the government is listening to NAR recommendations. However, NAR warns that more changes are needed, and quickly, to assist American families who are in danger of foreclosure and to help potential home buyers get motivated enough to hurry up and purchase a home sooner rather than later.
NAR is asking for a buy-down program to be put in place to help buy down mortgage interest rates or for the government to utilize all available resources to purchase mortgage-backed securities to reduce rats by 1 percentage point which would likely result in a half-million increase in home sales according to NAR data. Charles McMillan, NAR President, said that “. . . we will continue to press ahead because rates are not coming down fast enough to impact the housing market.” Actions need to be taken quickly to get ahead of falling home prices and troubled home owners instead of trying to chase the falling rates each month as they fall further in much of the nation. In our last blog we mentioned that San Antonio is still holding steady but improvements in the national housing market will affect us very positively as well.
NAR has also asked Congress to make temporary higher loan limitations permanent and the $7500 tax credit for first time home buyers to be extended to all home buyers and the payback clause to be eliminated in a further attempt to encourage more home sales. It is encouraging that the government is listening; I just hope that they have the ability and courage to take actions quickly so that we can see a welcomed turnaround in the national housing market for 2009.
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