National Association of REALTORS® update U.S. House passes stimulus package Last Wednesday, the United States House of Representatives passed on a largely partisan vote of 244-188, HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The economic stimulus bill, as the legislation is more commonly known, contains a number of key provisions for REALTORS®:
* Restoration of the 2008 loan limits for FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to 125% of median home price up to a limit of $729,750 (still on the table)
* Elimination of the repayment provision of the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit (has now been proposed to up to $15,000 (10% of the sales price up to $15,000); also proposed that the buyer does not have to be a first time homebuyer)
* Expansion of tax-exempt housing bonds (still on the table)
* Increased funding for the Rural Housing Service Program (still on the table- should be a no-brainer)
* Additional funding for neighborhood stabilization activities under the Community Development Block Grant Program (still on the table)
* Incentives to promote weatherization and energy efficiency (still on the table)
* Retrofitting federally assisted housing for energy efficiency (still on the table)
* An expansion of the Hope VI low-income housing construction and rehabilitation program (still on the table)
The House has also addressed a number of housing issues in legislation revamping the Trouble Asset Relief Program. Among the housing provisions of interest in the TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009, HR 384, are:
* A mortgage buy-down program to reduce rates below current prevailing market rates (still on the table- it will also be interesting to see if the markets can support this)
* Increased foreclosure prevention and mitigation efforts (still on the table- should be a no brainer)
* Ensuring liquidity in the residential and commercial mortgage markets (still on the table- again, this one should be interesting)
* Streamlining efforts to unclog the credit markets and increase the availability of credit to worthy customers (still on the table- again, this one should be interesting)
What do you think about all this?
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