Rental proponents oppose help for homebuyers

WASHINGTON – Nov. 20, 2008 – Organizations representing the rental side of the real estate market are lobbying against proposals for homebuyer assistance.

The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and the National Apartment Association (NAA) both oppose proposals for a federally financed interest rate buy down on mortgages or any overturn on bans on seller-financed down payment programs.

“The government should not be using taxpayer dollars to sustain inflated housing prices. When prices return to market levels, buyers will return. Such a resettlement will not only restore affordability to the housing sector, it will also put it on a much stronger footing going forward,” says Doug Bibby, NMHC president.

Bibby quotes the Nation Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which estimates that despite economic challenges, it expects Americans to buy 5.1 million homes next year. “Giving these buyers a $22,000 tax credit, as NAHB has called for, would mean $112 billion in wasted subsidy to buyers who would have bought a house anyway,” Bibby says.

Source: National Multi Housing Council (11/13/08)

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