Tucson’s Vicki Cox Golder of Vicki L. Cox and Associates is the president-elect of the National Association of Realtors. In an interview with Inside Tucson Business she weighs in on the plan NAR submitted to Congress:
- Making the $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit permanent and extending it to all buyers.
- Making FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loan limits permanent. They are currently at $729,000 but will fall down to $625,000 next year.
- Permanently bar banks from engageing in real estate brokerage and management. There is currently a two-year moratorium on it but that expires next year also.
- Have the givernment spend $50 billion of the bailout package to buy down the interest rate to 4.5%.
This final item appears to have already been achieved; the Fed announced last week it would begin purchasing mortgage backed securities from banks in order to stabilize the housing market.
Golder also discussed the strengths in the Southern Arizona market where we were recently one of the high points in the market, nationally. Nationwide sales went down from August to September but Arizona was one of the markets that had the largest gains in the third quarter.
She also criticized Treasury Secretary Paulson for the way the bailout money is being handled. The banks and financial institutions are getting money, but not lending it. Golder says as Realtors we want to see this money hit Main Street, getting homes off the market and loans off the sheets. Until that happens, Golder says we are going to continue to see a decline in home values.
Making the $729,000 loan limits permanent will definitely help the Tucson Luxury Home market, and the $7,500 tax credit along with 4.5% interest rates will encourage all buyers to get off the dime and buy Tucson Real Estate!
Denise McCreary
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