National Association of Realtors Proposes Housing Incentives

November 20, 2008

As a Realtor® and owner of a nationwide relocation company, I am daily faced with the effects of the economic meltdown on our real estate members all over the country. Consumer confidence is at an all time low which is adding to the current housing crisis. Buyers who have stable jobs and good income are postponing purchasing a home due to fear.

We need action by lawmakers NOW - not in January. Hopefully the lame duck Congress will listen to reason, and pass some meaningful bills! Bills that will RESTORE CONSUMER CONFIDENCE so that homebuyers are not frozen by fear! Even in areas which have a strong economy (low unemployment, healthy job outlook, no real estate bubble bursting) buyers are holding off buying – waiting for a lower interest rate, or the assurance that they'll buy at the absolute bottom price. They are also frustrated with the current lending environment that places a variety of barriers to getting a mortgage. This further impedes sales and price stabilization of the housing market.

A recent consumer survey conducted by Realogy Corp. (a National Association of Realtors ® member) stated how important housing is to this country's economic recovery. The survey found that nine out of 10 homeowners believe that owning a home is still the best long-term investment. But this same survey said that most people are not buying right now because of uncertainty about the market.

Recently the National Association of Realtors® sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson outlining steps he could take to stabilize the housing market. They also presented this plan to the House Financial Services Committee on November 18th. The four steps the recommended are:

1) Make the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all homebuyers and eliminate the repayment requirement.
2) Make the increased 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent so that all American families can find a safe and affordable mortgage when buying a home.
3) Get the $700 billion Treasury relief program back on track and focused on providing stability to the nation's housing markets and reducing foreclosures.
4) Bar banks from real estate brokerage and management activities permanently, to avoid exposing consumers and the economy to more unnecessary risks.

NAR also provided an economic analysis demonstrating that a reduction, or a buydown, of interest rates by just 1 percentage point could result in up to 840,000 additional home sales and reduce the inventory of homes by as much as 20 percent. Substantially lower mortgage rates would stimulate both existing- and new-home sales.

These are great first steps to getting home sales going again.

It was Richard Nixon who said, "A recession is anytime people lose confidence in the future." Now is the time to restore confidence, people!

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Local Information for Palm Coast, FL

Latitude: 29.538128 -- Longitude: -81.223385

Other Area Cities: Palm Coast Flagler Beach

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Palm Coast is situated in the eastern portion of Flagler County, which is located on the Atlantic Ocean, in the heart of Northeast Florida, equidistant between the cities of Jacksonville and Orlando. Currently, the City of Palm Coast has a population of 60,000 residents and covers an area of approximately 60 square miles. Industrial parks within the city currently house more than 30 mid to large size businesses with the largest corporation, Palm Coast Data, employing close to 1,000 people. Flagler County has had one of the highest rates of population growth in the United States since 1990, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Further, the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research predicts Flagler County will experience one of the highest job growth rates in Florida between 1995 and 2010. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Florida 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Palm Coast	Florida	United States
Population	32,732	15,982,378	281,421,906
Median age	51.2	38.7	35.3
Median age for Male	50.2	37.3	34
Median age for Female	51.9	40.1	36.5
Households	13,628	6,337,929	105,480,101
Household population	32,457	15,593,433	273,643,273
Average household size	2.38	2.46	2.59
Families	10,533	4,210,760	71,787,347
Average family size	2.68	2.98	3.14
Housing units	14,929	7,302,947	115,904,641
Occupied units	13,628	6,337,929	105,480,101
Vacant units	1,301	965,018	10,424,540

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