Housing Bills Will Help Homeowners and Economy

RISMEDIA, April 14, 2008-The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) applauded House and Senate legislation to address the housing crisis and economic slowdown.

“The bills passed this morning by the full Senate and yesterday by the House Ways and Means Committee are an important step in the process of enacting comprehensive housing legislation that will shore up housing and the economy,” said Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of NAHB. “We will continue to work on a bipartisan basis with lawmakers in both chambers and with the Bush Administration to produce the most effective legislation to help ailing homeowners and restore consumer confidence.”

The House and Senate versions contain several provisions that will help home buyers, homeowners, strapped borrowers facing foreclosure, state and local governments experiencing budget woes, veterans and businesses suffering losses in the current economic climate.

But one provision stands out as the most effective means to boost housing demand and stabilize the market, according to Howard.

“Enacting a broad, temporary tax credit for the purchase of a home would provide the best stimulus for housing and the economy,” he said. “We urge House and Senate lawmakers to keep this in mind as they move to bridge their differences and enact into law the best possible bill to help distressed homeowners and to jump-start housing and the economy.”

The Federal Reserve has already taken aggressive measures to stabilize financial markets and increase liquidity in the credit markets. The central bank has also taken unprecedented actions to make funds available for investment banks squeezed for credit.

“The Fed has done its part to prop up Wall Street. We are looking to Congress to swiftly pass comprehensive housing legislation to help home buyers and homeowners on Main Street and businesses. Taken together, these measures will help to avoid an economic downturn and stabilize financial markets globally,” said Howard.

In addition, the MBA also released an announcement, applauding the Senate passage of housing stimulus legislation. Kieran P. Quinn, CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association issued the following statement following the Senate’s passage of housing stimulus legislation.

“This bill contains a number of critically important provisions to help stabilize the mortgage and real estate market. We support many of those, including the modernization of FHA, the expansion of mortgage revenue bond programs and additional funding for housing and credit counselors to help those borrowers who are facing difficulties making their mortgage payments.

“I want to thank Senators Reid, McConnell, Dodd and Shelby for their bipartisan leadership in crafting a broadly supported compromise. We look forward to working with leaders in the House to help stabilize the market and further assist at risk borrowers.”