NAR Convention Update in Orlando

I attended the NAR convention in Orlando Friday Nov 7 to Monday Nov 10. Some of the things NAR discussed was a 4 point housing stimulus plan.

1. 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 us and effectiveness. The

2. 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.

3. Get the Treasury relief program back on track and target more funds to mortgage relief. Create a federal mortgage interest buy-down program to lower rates to 4.5% or lower and stabilize home prices. The proposal calls for a short-term government buy-down of mortgage rates to at least 4.5%, or lower, for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage(down from current rates of approximately 6.04%). This homebuyer incentive would apply to the purchase of all new and/or existing homes sold up to $1 million in price. There are a number of ways in which the government ultimately could decide to structure and fund this program, which could be addressed as part of the stimulus packages currently being discussed in Washington.

4. Permanently bar banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management. The banks hav proven they have enough to do o simply manage the loan process. Do we really want them to manage home sales and purchases?

They also announced the launch of the Realtor Federal Credit Union. The RFCU will be open 24/7 and will be web based and have a U.S. based call center. We should thank NAR for completing this 2 plus year project. i am sure it will be well received in this time of need.

2009 President Charles McMillan was also interviewed by a local news reporter looking for positive news to report. Let's hope the end is near of all the negative doom and gloom and have some positive news for a change.

There were over 26,000 people in attendance and I would highly recommend attending the next one . It was very informative and a chance to meet some really great and influencial people.

I also picked up an interesting stat that says 85% use agents or brokers to sell their homes and has increased almost every year since 1997. Let's remember that stat next time we try and get a FSBO or have a buyer trying to buy one without us.