ISPA Joins 'Fix Housing First' Coalition

December 15, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on December 16, 2008 The International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) has joined Fix Housing First, a coalition of 600 home-related organizations urging lawmakers to adopt a housing recovery plan similar to one that helped pull the nation's economy out of a recession in the mid-70s.  

"The decline in housing sales and overall home values led the global economy into our current recession (and) we need to do all we can to turn this around by stimulating home sales," said ISPA President and CEO Dick Doyle. "Further, ISPA is proud to be leading a parallel effort to stimulate the purchasing of home furnishings as an important aspect of the economic recovery plan," he said, referring to a a credit of up to $5,000 that would be granted to consumers who purchase new home furnishings when buying a house.

The Fix Housing First coalition, which includes home building companies and manufacturers, is pressing for a major stimulus package to stem the decline in home values, stabilize financial markets and reignite consumer demand for homes and home furnishings. It's urging Congress to support enhancements to the home buyer tax credit and provide below-market mortgages for home purchases.

The group says a similar plan worked during a recession in 1975 when Congress passed a short-term $2,000 tax credit for all new homes, which would be $12,000 in today's dollars, along with subsidized mortgage rates. The measures boosted the depressed economy and the effects continued long after the stimulus expired.

The coalition is calling for a tax credit of up to $22,000, or up to 10 percent of the price of a home. Repayment would only be required if the home were sold within three years. The credit would be available at the time of closing, making it easier to use it as a down payment. The credits would be available through Dec. 31, 2009.

The second component would provide qualified home buyers with 30-year fixed rate mortgages at 2.99 percent on contracts closed until June 30, 2009, and 3.99 percent until Dec. 31, 2009.