Last week's column dealt with issues confronting minorities when obtaining home loans -- in particular, the sub-prime lending market. It's clear to this Realtor that housing has been the Atlas propping up the economic recovery. Reports continue to espouse the power of this building bull, indicating that the stampede will continue for some time.
A recent study authored by former Whit House advisor Todd Bucholz titled Safe at Home: The New Role of Housing in the U.S. Economy, commissioned by the Homeownership Alliance, concludes that two new forces will be key to housing expansion. Enriched by that other bull, the stock market, baby boomers have become homebuyers instead of homesellers. The second source continuing this run will be minorities and recent immigrants who are on the "tipping point" of being able to afford a home.
Gone are the Cassandras of the 1980s who predicted a long-lasting downturn in the housing market. At that time, no one envisioned the impact and arrival of senior citizens and minorities in the housing market. At that time, economic prognosticators concluded that seniors would be a drag on any upswing in the housing sector when, in fact, they're helping spur its momentum.
Bucholz also concluded that the gains in wealth derived from housing were more evenly distributed than gains in the stock market and those gains helped consumers maintain confidence as the stock market began to tumble. Through reduced interest rates and increased technology, lenders have doubled the number of loans to minorities between 1993 and 1999, holding the key to continued expansion in the next decade.
As last week's column noted, the problems that exist for minorities in obtaining financing occur nationwide but vary in intensity and degree from region to region. It's apparent that any solution redressing these issues must be designed and targeted to specific groups and regions. What works in Poughkeepsie might not fly in Cucamonga.
In a related issue and in keeping with a localized approached, the Bush Administration continues to endorse and pursue a legislative process that K.I.L.S. (keeps it local, stupid). The administration joined with the National Association of Home Builders in opposing the Community Character Act (S. 975 and H.R. 1433) stating that the federal government has no right to dictate to local communities the "right way" to plan for growth.
The legislation as proposed would encourage the use of federally prescribed planning techniques that, according to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez, would "infringe on the rights of local and state governments to manage their growth" by allowing the departments of commerce or agriculture to be arbiter of how land should be used, thus usurping local government authority. This one-size-fits-nobody legislation would set a dangerous precedent in addition to raising constitutional problems.
I can tolerate and handle a legislative attitude like this with no problem -- it "kils" me, and I just love it.
This Week's Tip
In addition to last week's tip, here's another way you can put your home in the best light: Provide your real estate agent with information regarding your home's distance from schools, hospitals, libraries, parks, grocery stores and shopping areas. Homes located closer to such amenities sell more quickly.
STEVEN J. LOWENSTEIN, a native of Cincinnati, is a Realtor with Coletta & Associates Realtors. He's a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and holds a Master's degree from North Texas State University.
