The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is spearheading Fix Housing First, one of the largest coalitions of housing advocates ever assembled in the United States, to push for a housing recovery plan that will revive the economy.
"If we are going to successfully pull our nation out of recession, we must address housing first," said NAHB President and CEO Jerry Howard.
Fix Housing First, which consists of more than 600 organizations, home building companies and manufacturers continues to add new members on a daily basis, is pressing for a major stimulus package to stem the decline in home values, stabilize financial markets and reignite consumer demand. To get the economy moving again, the coalition is urging Congress to support enhancements to the home buyer tax credit and provide below-market 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for home purchases.
"If Congress enacts a meaningful tax credit, coupled with an aggressive interest rate buy-down program, we are confident that these measures will help to stabilize home prices, prevent future foreclosures, restore consumer confidence and start creating jobs," said Howard.
The coalition cites a similar plan that worked in 1975, when the nation was also in the midst of a recession. Congress then passed a short-term $2,000 tax credit for all new homes ($12,000 adjusted for today's median home prices) along with subsidized mortgage rates. The stimulus jump started the depressed economy and the effects continued long after the measure expired.
"Entering this holiday season, we saw a sobering loss of more than half a million jobs in November, and major job cutbacks among the nation's top employers are being announced daily," said Howard. "We need to put a stop to this dangerous erosion on Main Street before it grows out of control."
Enzo Perfetto, a third-generation home builder from Cleveland, has gone from constructing 20-to-30 homes annually to just one this year as a result of the economic downturn. The situation is critical and getting worse, he said. "Home building generates American jobs. You can't outsource the construction of a home. But these jobs won't return until the credit freeze ends and our government addresses the housing crisis."
"We are leaving no stone unturned in conveying to our government and the public the message that a housing stimulus is urgently needed, and that restoring demand for housing is the fastest and most effective way of reviving the economy," Howard said.
The housing stimulus proponents are calling for significant enhancements to the current $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers. Among the improvements:
The second component of the stimulus plan would provide qualified home buyers with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at 2.99 percent on contracts closed until June 30, 2009 and 3.99 percent on closings between June 30 and Dec. 31, 2009.
The coalition has also announced its support for continuing foreclosure prevention measures to keep people in their homes.
To help buyers in California and other high-cost markets, NAHB is also calling on Congress to permanently keep the FHA/Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits at $729,750. Under current law, the loan limits for high-cost areas will be reduced to $625,500 on Jan. 1, 2009.
Fix Housing First points out that 3 million home building-related jobs have been lost as a result of the slowdown in housing production, which represents $145 billion in lost wages and $4.9 billion in lost purchases. Deterioration in these jobs has now spilled over into virtually all sectors of the U.S. job market.
Lenders are always looking for new ways to help buyers get into the home of their dreams. Today they frequently use adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) to increase the buyer's options. The interest rate on an ARM changes periodically to reflect changes in the national market. Since the loan starts at a rate that is lower than the national average, lenders can reduce the borrower's qualifying criteria.
One way to distinguish between different ARMs is by the national index to which they are tied. Some ARMs are tied to a slow-moving index called the cost-of-funds index; these are usually the most desirable. ARMs that are tied to a more volatile index, such as Treasury Notes, can be adjusted upward at a quicker rate. Look at all the factors before choosing a loan. The faster index loan may start out with lower rates and lower monthly payments, but the slower index ARM may eliminate your concern about having to re-finance down the road.
Here is a tip for those who are shopping for Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs): the "margin" is almost as important as the initial rate. The margin is the percentage point above the average yields for Treasury notes on which future rate adjustments will be calculated.
Let's compare two hypothetical one-year ARMs. The first may have an initial interest rate of 7% with a 2.5 margin, while the second begins at 6 7/8% with a 2.75 margin. Both loans have rate caps of 2%. Suppose that at the end of the first year of the loan, the average of the one-year Treasury note yield has been 5 1/2%. For each loan, the lenders will add the margin to that 5 1/2% average yield. Thus the interest rate for first loan would increase from 7% to 8%, and the second would go from 6 7/8% to 8 1/4%. While the first ARM had a slightly higher initial rate, it will have lower rates in subsequent years, unless the Treasury note rates increase enough to activate the annual caps on the amount of the increase. There is a wide variance among margins in ARMs offered by competing lenders, and this should be a factor when you decide on your loan.
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