Does Obama bring hope for the housing market?
Whether you voted for him or not, you have to appreciate the historic nature of new President Barack Obama’s historic victory last year. Tomorrow, Obama will become the country’s first bi-racial president. That’s important: It means that now people of all races can win election to the country’s highest office. The next hurdle? The country needs to elect a female president.
Of course, the nation is looking for a lot from Obama. I wouldn’t want to carry the weight that’s undoutbedly bearing down on his shoulders right now.
For instance, we who write about the housing industry are wondering whether Obama’s election means that better days are ahead for the home-selling and -buying business.
Obama’s already accomplished something. Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives proposed a bill to help stimulate the country’s housing market. The new proposal would require that the U.S. Treasury Department would make affordable mortgage loans available for qualified buyers. The Treasury Department would accomplish this through interest-rate buy-downs. The hope is that this move would inspire more buyers to enter the market and make offers on homes.
You can read more about the bill here, at the online home of the National Association of Realtors.
This may be just one small step in Obama’s work in rejuvenating the U.S. housing market. Of course, Obama has a lot of other issues on his plate. He has two wars to deal with, a sinking economy, soaring unemployment and a health-insurance system that many say is broken.
Still, the housing market is a crucial one to the success of our country’s economy. Remember the months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks? The housing market was one of the few in the country that was still thriving. Many credit it with carrying the country’s economy through those rough months.
Simply put, when the housing industry does well, so does our country’s economy. I’m hopeful that our new president is well enough aware of that fact to do something to jump-start the home-selling business.
