Please contact your National legislators and encourage them to adopt NAR’s 4-Point Plan. A sample letter follows.
December 01, 2008
Representative ____________________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-0001
Subject: Reviving the real estate market must be the focus of a future stimulus bill
Dear Representative ,
As a constituent and a Realtor, I ask that Congress focus any future stimulus package on reinvigorating housing markets. The current crisis is the result of problems in the nation’s housing markets. Efforts to boost the economy must calm jittery real estate markets.
Earlier, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) proposed a 4-Point Housing Stimulus Plan that should be part of any new stimulus package. NAR’s plan would:
*Make the $7500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all buyers and eliminate repayment requirements. The credit’s limited availability and repayment requirement severely limit the credit’s use and effectiveness.
*Make the 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent. New rules for 2009 will reduce them. Now is not the time to limit mortgage affordability.
*Get the Treasury relief program back on track and target more funds to mortgage relief. Create a federal mortgage interest buy-down program to make below-market rates available and stabilize home prices.
*Permanently bar banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management. The banks have proven they have enough to do to simply manage the loan process. Banks should not manage home sales and purchases.
Housing has always lifted our economy out of past economic downturns. It’s imperative now to foster a housing recovery, so that the economy can recover. Thank you for your hard work.
