As the U.S. economic crisis worsens, NAR has been urging legislators to include principles of the association’s four-point plan in any future housing stimulus legislation.
NAR developed the plan with consumers in mind, to boost the economy and stabilize real estate markets.
The plan recommends:
Extending the $7,500 tax credit to all home buyers and eliminating the repayment requirement
Making the 2008 FHA and conventional loan limits permanent
Putting the Troubled Asset Relief Program back on track
Permanently barring large banks and banking conglomerates from engaging in real estate brokerage and management.
To learn more about NAR’s four-point plan visit:http://takeaction.realtoractioncenter.com/nar/4pointplan.html
Bringing incentives home
As I talk to other Realtors® in our area about whether local buyers are taking advantage of the temporary $7,500 tax credit and the higher loan limits for 2008, and whether or not these initiatives helped any buyers become homeowners it seems that these programs have not helped much due to a lack of communication or understanding in how they might help the home buyer of today.
One Real Estate Professional commented, “The $7500 first time buyers tax “credit” is largely misunderstood, and hasn’t had a tremendous effect. Some buyers plan to use it, and some who qualify, don’t plan to use it because they do not want to deal with paying it back, despite the lack of interest in the interim. We won’t really know how many actually take the credit until qualified 2008 buyers file their tax returns in early 2009, and some statistics become available. The higher loan limits have made some difference, but not a great difference.”
“I don’t many people understand it. Especially, those that it was targeted to impact. Typically, first time home buyers are nervous enough about making a large purchase and complicating it with a tax credit that has to be repaid over time, even without interest, just adds another layer of complexity. Personally, I think it would have been more effective if it was targeting all home buyers or even investors buying single family homes for rentals. They are much more likely to understand it and be willing to use it,” lamented another Realtors®.
