Obama's State of the Union Address Draws Praise, Suggestions from Multiple Real Estate Sectors

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In President Obama's recent State of the Union address, he mentioned helping the U.S. housing market recover sooner than later. His comments are now drawing some praise and concerns from various the real estate sector executives.

Cindy Chetti, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) tells the World Property Channel, "We applaud President Obama's initiatives in the State of the Union address to revive the ailing housing market. Though the apartment industry continues as one of the few bright spots in the economy, multifamily cannot sustain its strong growth without overall economic growth, and that requires a steady housing sector.

"We also applaud the President's reference to building energy efficiency and reiterate our call for lawmakers to renew, expand and enhance the expired energy tax credits that help building owners retrofit their properties to be more energy efficient. Energy efficient upgrades in multifamily buildings could result in up to $3.4 billion in energy savings nationwide according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

"Long-term, housing finance reform will serve as a critical component of the housing recovery. We encourage a market dominated by private capital, but history has shown that even in strong economic times the private sector cannot meet the industry's needs. An ongoing federal backstop paid for by users is necessary to meet the country's growing need for rental housing.

"While we support federal efforts to right the troubled housing market, we caution lawmakers to avoid policies that attempt to fix what is not broken in a thriving multifamily industry via an unbalanced housing approach that caused the problems in the first place.

Chetti concludes with, "The nation is relying on rental housing more than ever as changing demographics and lifestyle preferences favor apartment living. Renters could make up half of all new households this decade--more than seven million new renter households. Now more than ever we need a strong, balanced housing policy to meet the country's changing housing preferences."

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) also commended President Obama for offering proposals in last night's State of the Union address to help families stay in their homes and stanch foreclosures, and is urging policymakers to take additional actions to mend the housing market and boost the economy.

"President Obama's refinancing plan offers an opportunity for continued exploration of ways to aid struggling home owners and tackle the foreclosure crisis," said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. "We look forward to working with the White House and Congress to tackle this issue and continue to make progress on foreclosures that are hampering the housing market."

In order to create jobs and further stabilize housing and the economy, Nielsen added that the Administration, Congress and federal regulators need to reopen the lines of credit for builders ready to embark upon viable projects in markets where new housing stock is needed and to ease overly restrictive mortgage lending requirements for qualified home buyers.

The NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index shows that scores of metro areas across the nation are beginning to see signs of recovery, but in order to meet this emerging housing demand, builders need access to credit to break ground on sound projects and generate new jobs and sorely needed tax revenues in these communities.

"President Obama was absolutely right when he said that 'there has never been a better time to build,' and the nation's home builders are eager to do their part to contribute to economic growth and job creation," said Nielsen, who noted that housing normally accounts for more than 17 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.

Building 100 single-family homes creates more than 300 full-time jobs and $8.9 million in federal, state and local tax revenues that help fund local schools, police and firefighters in markets across the land.

Sixty percent of voters say that resolving the foreclosure mess is essential to get the economy back on track and there is broad support for government policies that encourage homeownership, according to a new nationwide survey on housing commissioned by NAHB from the Republican and Democratic polling firms of Public Opinion Strategies and Lake Research Partners.

More than seven in 10 voters representing all political parties believe that tax incentives to promote homeownership are reasonable and appropriate and nearly six in 10 voters say the federal government should make it a high priority to restore the nation's housing market.

Even more telling, the majority of voters believe neither party is doing a good job on housing.

"In this election year, voters will be looking closely at President Obama, the GOP presidential contenders and congressional candidates from both political parties to determine how they plan to put housing and the economy back on track," said Nielsen. "How the candidates respond will decide not only their political fate but the economic prospects of most Americans."