The National Association of Realtors is calling on Congress to pass new housing stimulus legislation it says will “give a boost to the economy and help to calm jittery potential home buyers.”
The NAR proposes eliminating the repayment of the $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit and expanding it to all home buyers; making higher mortgage loan limits permanent to benefit buyers in high-cost areas; pushing banks to extend credit to Main Street; expediting the process for short sales and banks’ real estate-owned (REO) properties; and prohibiting banks from entering into real estate brokerage and management. If you have been reading my blog(s) since the initial legislation was passed, I have been yelling to everyone within earshot of me that the $7500 credit was not a credit, but a loan. Now thanks to the NAR we have the largest association of people in America asking for a repeal of the “payback” provision of this “credit” which was never a credit in the first place.
“Housing has always lifted the economy out of downturns, and it is imperative to get the housing market moving forward as quickly as possible,” NAR President Richard F. Gaylord said in a press statement. He went on to say that “making it easier for qualified buyers to get safe and affordable mortgage loans” is of the utmost importance to our having a chance at a recovery.
