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REALTORS® Urge Preserving Homeownership Tax Policies

As Congress pursues comprehensive tax reform it should focus on doing no harm to housing and America’s 75 million homeowners by maintaining current tax laws for homeownership and real estate investment, the National Association of REALTORS® said in a recent testimony. NAR President Gary Thomas testified before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee concerning Federal tax provisions that affect residential real estate.

Home Builders Call on Congress to Improve Immigration Bill’s Guest Worker Provisions

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) commends the bipartisan Senate sponsors of legislation to advance comprehensive immigration reform and called on lawmakers to improve the guest worker provisions

MBA Applauds Bill to Clarify Points and Fees Calculation for Qualified Mortgage Rule

Debra W. Still, CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), applauded H.R. 1077, the Consumer Mortgage Choice Act, introduced earlier in March

Realogy Chairman Signs CEOs’ Letter to President and Congress on Smart Reforms and the Fiscal Cliff

Richard Smith, Chairman, President and CEO of Realogy Corporation, was among over 150 chief executive officers whose signature was included on a letter to the President and Congress this week that calls for “smart reforms” related to the so-called fiscal cliff. Smith along with 158 other CEOs sent the letter on behalf of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with more than $7.3 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 16 million employees. The letter released this week is as follows:

As Short-Sale Tax Break Nears End, Pressure Mounts on Homeowners

(MCT)—The race is on to finalize short sales and seal the deal on mortgage reductions as the Dec. 31 expiration of a massive tax break for struggling homeowners looms. Since 2007, homeowners whose banks

President Must Now Focus on Housing

Clear Capital, a provider of data and real estate asset valuation, investment, and risk assessment, recently released its Home Data Index™ (HDI) Market Report with data through October 2012. The HDI Market Report uses a broad array of public and proprietary data sources providing the most timely and relevant analysis available.

RE/MAX Co-Founder and Chairman Dave Liniger Issues Open Letter to President Obama and Governor Romney

The following letter was issued today, October 25, 2012, to President Obama and Governor Romney, from Dave Liniger, Co-Founder and Chairman of RE/MAX, LLC: We have just witnessed the last of three presidential debates in anticipation of elections now just 2 weeks away. Considering the depth of these debates and the months of political advertisements in this campaign, it is discouraging that there has not been a serious discussion about housing. As leaders, you ignore housing at our peril. Although the economy is recognized as the single most important issue in this campaign,

Court Grants MRIS Preliminary Injunction against American Home Realty Network in Copyright Suit

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS) has announced that the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Southern Division, has granted MRIS a preliminary injunction against defendant American Home Realty Network (AHRN), owner/operator of the Neighborcity.com website. According to the announcement late Wednesday, the preliminary injunction restricts the unauthorized use of copyrighted content from the MRIS Database, as follows:

Dodd-Frank: Could New Rules Derail the Housing Recovery?

The pending rulemakings for the Qualified Mortgage and Qualified Residential Mortgage mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, and the Federal Reserve’s recently proposed Basel III international capital standards, have the potential to severely tighten an already rigid credit market, as well as reduce mortgage provider choice. These key pieces of unfinished business from the Dodd-Frank Act are leaving industry professionals unclear on mortgage origination requirements, and could lead to unavoidably higher costs for homebuyers. In fact, according to Ken Trepeta, director of the Real Estate Services for the National Association of REALTORS®, the “trifecta” of QM,

Lieutenant Governors Call on President, Congress to Address Housing Crisis

Recently, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) commended the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) for approving a resolution that underscores the importance of homeownership and calls on Washington

Future of Housing Finance Will Be Top Issue for Next President

The future of housing finance in the U.S. will be a key issue facing the winner of the upcoming presidential election. That's what a panel of industry experts told several thousand Realtors® gathered at a symposium, Housing Policy in 2013: Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions, during the REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo this week. The National Association of Realtors® supports a comprehensive reform strategy for the secondary mortgage market to help maintain a level of certainty in the marketplace and not further disrupt the still fragile housing market recovery.

HUD and Obama Administration Officials Host Georgia White House Forum on Housing

Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hosted a White House Forum on Housing to discuss programs and initiatives promoted by the Obama Administration

Get Involved: NAR Outlines Public Policy Priorities Ahead of D.C. Rally This Week

Many REALTORS® are asking the questions - why is NAR having this rally? Are there specific bills or legislation we are trying to pass or defeat? What is the urgency? Congress addresses a myriad of real estate issues every year. What makes this year unique is that for the first time ever the American dream, as we know it, is under attack, NAR says. It is time to remind Congress that owning a home is an indispensable thread of the American fabric. REALTORS® need to protect homeownership in America for today and tomorrow. NAR notes that this is an election year, giving REALTORS® an excellent opportunity to present our critical issues to Congress before voters head to the polls in November.

Obama Administration Releases April Housing Scorecard

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released the April edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard— a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market.

Jobs Report: Economy Adds 115,000 Jobs, Growth Slows in April

(MCT)—Hiring continued its slow pace in April as employers added a modest 115,000 jobs to their payrolls, providing more evidence that the economy has lost some momentum from early this year. The jobless rate inched down to 8.1 percent last month, the Labor Department said Friday, but that wasn’t because more people were employed. Rather, the rate fell as more workers dropped out of the labor force. The April jobs report was highly anticipated because job growth slowed sharply in March after three strong winter months of payroll gains averaging 252,000. Labor officials Friday revised job growth upward in March to 154,000 from 120,000 previously reported, but that didn’t change the overall picture:

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