In the News

The Home Builders Association's recently completed study, "New Construction: Adding Value to Our Communities," shows that local residential and commercial construction contributed more than one quarter billion dollars between 2002 to 2007 to build the schools, roads, parks, and other public improvements that serve growing, economically healthy communities.

http://www.fixhousingfirst.com/

America received more bad news last week when the government reported that 533,000 jobs were lost in November, for a total of about 1.9 million jobs eliminated year–to-date.  One of the hardest-hit segments of the workforce has been that of housing and related businesses, where an estimated 3 million jobs have evaporated in the past few years. When you consider that the housing industry accounts for about 15 cents of every dollar spent in our country, it is clear just how crippling a blow our economy has sustained.

The first order of business for the incoming Congress and Administration this January will be to craft a massive and desperately needed new stimulus package to get the economy moving again. Clearly, housing must be a centerpiece of that recovery plan.

Realizing how shell-shocked today’s consumers have become, it will take a combination of some powerful incentives to bring qualified buyers back to the market.  Specifically, Congress should make the recently implemented home buyer tax credit much bigger and better, and available to all qualified purchasers; at the same time, it should enact a sizeable government buy down of home mortgage rates. Together, these measures would ignite buyer demand, which would help stabilize home values, reduce foreclosures, save tens of thousands of jobs and turn the housing market and economy back in the right direction.

Many of you have asked how you can help at the local level. Please promote the Fix Housing First Initiative by contacting your elected representatives,