Industry Leaders React Positively to Obama's Brief Mention of Housing

In Tuesday’s State of the Union Speech whichrncovered a lot of ground both domestic and foreign, President Obama made onlyrntwo brief mentions of housing.  The firstrnwas a passing reference in the speech’s introduction when he said, “Our housing market is healing, our stock market isrnrebounding, and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protectionsrnthan ever before.”  The second came nearrnthe end of the domestic portion of his speech when he told Congress, “…and since the mostrnimportant investment many families make is their home, send me legislation thatrnprotects taxpayers from footing the bill for a housing crisis ever again, andrnkeeps the dream of homeownership alive for future generations of Americans.”</p

Still, housing industry leaders found waysrnto comment on the speech.  David H. Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage BankersrnAssociation said, “Just as the President mentioned tonight, we believe that therntime is now for Washington to take a more active role in housing reform. Be itrnthrough legislation as President Obama suggested, or other measures that don’trnrequire Congressional action, strengthening the real estate finance system isrngood for borrowers and will only improve our recovering economy.”</p

Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) saidrnthe association agrees with the President that ‘the most important investmentrnmany families make is their home.”  Hernadded that, “Nothing packs a bigger economic punch than home building. Buildingrn100,000 homes creates more than 300,000 full-time jobs and $8.9 billion in taxrnrevenues that are essential to help local communities build schools, hirernpolice and firefighters, and fix roads.</p

“With the right policies in place, housing can lead the economy to higherrnground. Tonight, the President called on Congress to send him legislation thatrnwill avoid another housing crisis and ‘keeps the dream of homeownership alivernfor future generations.’  Such a planrnmust provide proper federal support that will protect 30-year mortgages, limitrntaxpayer exposure, encourage increased participation from the private sector,rnand ensure liquidity and stability for homeownership and rental housing.”</p

Cindy Chetti, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs of the NationalrnMultifamily Housing Council (NMHC) commented on behalf of NMHC and the NationalrnApartment Association (NAA), applauding the President for “highlighting housingrnfinance reform, immigration and tax reform.” rnThese issues, she said, “directly affect our ability to provide homes tornmillions of Americans, including student housing, seniors housing, affordablernhousing and military housing.  </p

“We applaud the President’s support of housing in his speech, but wouldrnremind him that housing preferences are changing and a growing number ofrnAmerican households are choosing to rent for lifestyle and financial reasons.rnThe number of renter households grew by almost five million from 2007 to 2012,rnwith this trend continuing over the next decade.</p

“For that reason, housing finance reform must avoid a “one-size-fits-all”rnapproach. The multifamily market uses commercial mortgage debt products, andrnimposing single family reforms would jeopardize our ability to meet thernnation’s need for millions of new rental homes over the next decade.”</p

She said her groups encourage the President and Congress to enact pro-growthrntax reform for both individuals and corporations including factors to promote investmentrnin rentals “without unfairly burdening apartment owners and renters relative tornother asset classes.”   She also urgedrnpassage of comprehensive immigration reform “to address the current patchworkrnof state and local laws. Immigrants are a key driver of apartment demand and anrnimportant force in apartment construction and operations.”</p

Reactions of some groups were, at least on the surface, unrelated to realrnestate.  For example, American Instituternof Architects President Robert Ivy said, “The President’s focus on economicrnmobility is timely, considering that the architecture profession is stillrnstruggling to recover from the Great Recession. That’s why we are encouraged tornhear the President talk about energy and college affordability in such anrnexplicit way.<br /<br /He said that among his group's top legislative priorities is reinstating anrnexpired tax deduction that helps make commercial and federal buildings morernenergy efficient.  "We urge the WhiternHouse and Congress to make such initiatives a top priority in this session ofrnCongress, and to adopt the AIA's list of legislative priorities (link) as a wayrnto ignite the construction economy by spurring much needed improvements inrnenergy efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency, and create jobs for smallrnbusiness.”

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