Carver Communications - Index

Carver Communications - 5.15.09 - Index

May 15, 2009 REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE 7
On May 11, 2009, San Antonio
REALTORS® and REALTORS® from
across the nation arrived in Washington,
D.C. for the National Association of
REALTORS® (NAR) Mid-Year
Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo.
Advancing NAR’s legislative agenda on
Capitol Hill has never been more important.
As REALTORS® meet with
Members of Congress and United States
Senators this week they will bring the
message “A Housing Recovery Unlocks
the Economy.” A full economic recovery
is impossible without a housing recovery
leading the way. These meetings
conclude on Saturday May 16th.
The 2009 REALTOR® Legislative
Agenda
Our legislators should move the
Housing Market Forward and
Safeguard Our Communities by:
By Robyn Locke,
Director of Political and Community Affairs
REALTORS® Return to DC
NAR Mid-Year Legislative Meetings to Focus
on Efforts to Stabilize Housing Markets
• Restructuring Fannie Mae &
Freddie Mac: The federal government
must have a continued key role to ensure
capital for mortgage lending throughout
all mortgage markets and in all market
conditions.
• FHA & GSE Loan Limits: Congress
should make permanent the 2008 loan
limit formula and loan limit cap.
• Homebuyer Tax Credit: Congress
should expand the $8000 first-time
homebuyer tax credit to include all
homebuyers at all income levels.
Additionally, they should preserve
the Mortgage Interest Deduction
(MID) as NAR opposes any changes to
current law. The MID is a remarkably
effective tool that facilitates homeownership
and community stability. More
than 75% of homeowners utilize the
deduction over the period they own their
home.
Further, legislators need to enact
Health Care Coverage for the selfemployed
and small business owners.
NAR urges Congress to pass health care
reform legislation that addresses the
inequities faced by the self-employed
and small businesses in the nation’s
health insurance delivery system.
Energy efficiency continues to
grow in importance as we learn of its
value. Adopting reasonable approaches
to Energy Efficiency is key. NAR supports
commercially reasonable, incentive-based
approaches to help our
nation’s commercial and residential
buildings become more energy efficient.
NAR strongly opposes energy labeling
requirements which are imposed at time
of sale or impose undue economic burdens
on property owners or managers.
And finally, stabilizing and providing
Liquidity to Commercial Real
Estate Markets is an important objective
of NAR in coming months. The freeze in
Visit the SABOR Realtor store!
our nation’s credit markets has adversely
affected commercial and investment
real estate. Property owners seeking to
refinance existing loans, including land
and residential development loans are
finding access to credit limited.
Restoration of the orderly functioning of
financial markets is essential.
• NAR supports an expansion of the
duration of loans offered to investors,
by the Federal Reserve through the Term
Asset-Backed-Securities Loan Facility
(TALF), from the current 3-year term to
at least five years to better accommodate
the longer loan terms of commercial
mortgages. (Most commercial mortgages
have a loan term of seven to 10
years).
• NAR supports the retention of current
capital gains rates.
Source: National Association of
REALTORS®