President Obama's Housing Recovery Plan Deserves a Chance to Succeed - and it Might, Says Leading Realtor Roger Soderstrom

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(News Source: Stirling Sotheby's International Realty)

(ORLANDO, FL) -- President Obama's recently announced housing recovery plan may succeed in stabilizing the U.S. housing market and re-energizing the home building industry, says one of Central Florida's leading real estate analysts.
   
Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby's International Realty, one of the area's largest real estate companies, said he thinks Americans may be surprised at how quickly the housing market returns.
   
"We won't ever see a return to 2005 levels of activity," Soderstrom cautioned. "That was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon and we're paying for it now," he said.
   
But, Soderstrom said, both housing values and new home construction are likely to see upswings as a result of President Obama's recovery plan. And the whole world is waiting for it.
   
"Housing is the key to U.S. economic recovery and the U.S. is the lynchpin of the global economy," Soderstrom said. "We have extensive contacts with international investors and vacation home buyers awaiting the U.S. recovery so they can get back into the market here," he said.
   
President Obama announced plans to allocate $75 billion in TARP funds to help lenders modify distressed mortgage loans.
   
"That's a good first step," Soderstrom said. "If it is applied conscientiously it could prove a major shot in the arm for the housing market by encouraging home owners when they need it," he said.
   
An additional $200 billion---from funding previously authorized by Congress---will spur Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to move in the same direction.
   
"By any measure, $275 billion is a substantial effort," Soderstrom said.
   
"Past policies - in the context of all the other financial shortfalls - have been disastrous and the sooner we can refocus on sound business policies that include both public and private sectors, the sooner we will encourage Americans to renew their faith in American real estate as a sound investment for the future." Soderstrom said.
   
The key, Soderstrom said, will be to reshape the housing industry as a secure long-term investment.
   
"We shouldn't look at housing as an investment commodity to earn short-term profits," Soderstrom said. "That's an abuse of the system and it's the reason we're in this mess."
   
"For more than half a century, American real estate has stood as the most reliable long-term security a family could invest in," Soderstrom said. "That's what's made this country such a financial powerhouse, and that's what will lead the world economic recovery in the years ahead," he added.   

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