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RISMEDIA, October 31, 2009—Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan called on Congress to approve three important measures to improve housing and the housing market for Americans: extension of the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit for a limited period, extension of higher loan limits for home mortgages, and secure funding for the Housing Trust Fund. 

“We welcome efforts taken by Congress to extend the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit for a limited period. This credit has brought new families into the housing market and contributed to three consecutive months of rising home prices nationwide,” said Secretaries Geithner and Donovan. “In extending the credit, we urge Congress to include strict measures to combat tax fraud and protect responsible homeowners. We also urge Congress to act swiftly to extend the loan limits that currently apply to most mortgages, helping make rates more affordable for middle-class families. Finally, we will work with Congress to identify a financing source for the Housing Trust Fund, which will help provide decent housing for families hardest hit by the current economic downturn.” 

“These three measures will help support our efforts to stabilize the housing market by providing support for the recovery in housing prices, keeping mortgage rates low, and helping people who can afford their homes to avoid foreclosure,” said Secretary Geithner. 

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, “These three measures provide comprehensive support to our recovering housing market and continued access to affordable housing. While extending the tax credit and higher loan limits will help promote homeownership, funding the Housing Trust Fund will provide assistance to renter households impacted by the economic crisis.” 

Secretary Geithner and Secretary Donovan announced their support for three key housing measures: 

-Extend the First-Time Homebuyer Credit, with strong anti-fraud measures. The Administration supports a limited extension of the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, which is currently set to expire on December 1. This credit has made the difference in bringing new families into the housing market. Those buyers, in turn, have reduced the inventory of unsold homes and contributed to three months in a row of increases in home prices nationwide. A stronger housing market benefits homeowners and strengthens the financial system. In order to reinforce the progress already made this year, the Administration urges Congress to extend the Credit for a limited period. In doing so, we urge the Congress to include effective measures to combat tax fraud, including setting a minimum age for home purchase and requiring documentary proof of the purchase in order to receive the credit. 

-Extend Loan Limits for Mortgage Loans. The Administration supports a one-year extension of the current loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. This extension is vital in helping support the continued availability of affordable mortgages for many working families and aiding the recovery in the housing markets. Under present law, the current loan limits will expire on December 31. Families are already applying for mortgages that are being turned down or priced higher due to this impending deadline. The extension of the loan limits is being considered in the upcoming Continuing Resolution, and we urge Congress to enact the extensions immediately in order to assure the smooth supply of capital to the housing market. 

-Secure Financing for the Housing Trust Fund. The Administration is committed to working with the Congress to fund the Housing Trust Fund. This Fund is an important source of support for extremely low income families who otherwise cannot afford decent housing. The Fund was created in the 2008 HERA legislation, but has not had an effective funding source and so has not been able to fulfill its important mission. While the President’s Budget proposed to fund the Housing Trust Fund for $1 billion, and fully offset it within the Budget, the Administration is announcing that it will actively work with Congress to identify a specific offset to assure that level of financing for the Fund. 

For more information, visit www.ustreas.gov or www.hud.gov. 

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

RISMEDIA, October 31, 2009—Getting your clients to understand that real estate is local was one of the more difficult lessons that real estate professionals have had to preach during the recent housing downturn. As the media continually painted a negative picture of the real estate landscape, perspective buyers and sellers took the news to heart. Here, Bruce Zipf, president and CEO of NRT LLC discusses how leadership needs to start on the local level before it can expand to the entire company. 

Bruce Zipf
President & CEO
NRT LLC
www.nrtllc.com 

For the 12th straight year, NRT was ranked the top brokerage in the nation. However, the real secret behind our success is not our large national footprint or unparalleled investment in marketing and technology; it is our presence in more than 30 top markets and our ability to distinguish ourselves at the most local level—the individual office. Here, our branch managers leverage their own personal brand of leadership to oversee their teams, tapping into their individual relationships with their agents as well as their in-depth knowledge of the local market. 

It’s a known fact that great performers always try to get better; our managers are no exception. To support our managers’ and sales associates’ competitive spirits, we invest through our Business Leadership Development Series a great deal of time and effort to improving our managers’ productivity and management skill levels, which in turn will further enhance our sales associates’ production and efficiency levels. NRT’s Business Leadership Development Series includes scripting/dialogue sessions, business development strategies to increase production, recruiting, coaching techniques to build a stronger team of agents, methods for conducting effective office meetings, articulating value to clients and pricing properties to sell. Managers then become a source of education, motivation and inspiration to their agents, building both loyalty and business at the same time…not to mention value. 

We feel this is a critical differentiator for our company and are so committed to the development of our team that we created a senior level position devoted to this initiative. And did I mention that all of this training—much of it conducted in a one-on-one setting—is provided in-house at no cost to our managers or sales associates? 

Our efforts in this organic-growth initiative are reflective of our deep commitment to each and every one of our offices across the country. We know that our continued success as the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage is dependent on the individual success of our managers and sales associates, and we remain confident in their abilities to continually distinguish themselves and NRT in their respective markets. Real estate is local, and for us, so is leadership. 

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.