The National Association of Realtors' met for their mid-year meeting last week where there was much concern over whether the "American Dream of Homeownership" has been lost forever.
Supported "virtually" by 11,000 more members, the Realtors were advocating "better access to affordable financing, reform of the secondary mortgage market, improved liquidity in residential and commercial lending, and preservation of the tax benefits associated with homeownership."
These concerns have been around since the sub-prime mortgage crisis of 2008, but the expressions are becoming more dominant as of late.
Realtors, builders and others have continually decried what they consider "overtightening" of credit in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown, saying it has pushed creditworthy borrowers into the ranks of those for whom mortgages are out of the question.
In addition, builders say, they have found the credit needed to finance even modest residential-construction efforts impossible to secure.
Here are a list of some of the concerns listed by the National Association of Realtors:
-Mortgage-interest tax deductions. Although no formal challenge has been crafted, "many lawmakers have expressed a willingness to eliminate or curtail the mortgage-interest deduction," the National Association of Home Builders says.
In an April speech in Florida, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, said he would eliminate or limit for high earners the mortgage-interest deduction for second homes if he is nominated and elected.
-Appraisal standards. Both the National Associations of Realtors and Home Builders accuse appraisers of using distressed housing, as NAHB put it, to measure the value of "well-kept existing or brand-new homes without accounting for major differences in condition or quality."
The Appraisal Institute denies the accusation. Sara W. Stephens, president of the Chicago-based organization, has called the finger-pointing by real estate agents and builders "nonsense."
