Former Presidents Bush, Clinton to Speak at NAR Conference -Joining REALTORS® at the site of the most destructive hurricane ever on U.S. soil will be former presidents George H.W. Bush and William Clinton. They'll take the stage during the General Session at the 2006 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans. Presidents Bush and Clinton -- who worked together on relief efforts after the 2004 South Asian tsunami and again after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 -- will talk about their Katrina relief efforts. The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund has raised more than $100 million to date and has so far announced $40 million in grants to the affected states and $30 million in grants to higher education institutions that were devastated by Katrina, the presidents' foundation Web site says. REALTORS® and others in the real estate community have stepped up to the plate, too, contributing some $18 million to the REALTOR® Relief Foundation, American Red Cross, United Way, and other charities to help storm victims. Also at the General Session, NAR 2006 President Thomas M. Stevens will give his industry address and recognize the outstanding achievements of REALTORS®. The General Session is Saturday, Nov. 11, 4-6 p.m. For more on the conference, click here. To register online, click here.
NAR Forecast: Sales, Appreciation Settling Down - The housing boom has ended but sales at historically healthy levels will continue, and price appreciation will return to normal patterns across much of the country, NAR says. Existing-home sales are projected to drop 6.8 percent to 6.60 million this year from a record 7.08 million in 2005. New-home sales are forecast to fall 13.4 percent to 1.11 million from a record 1.28 million in 2005. Although an easing is healthy now, the Federal Reserve should be careful not to tighten interest-rates too much as it tries to curb inflationary pressures. "This is a time for the Fed to pause on rate hikes because we have some interest-sensitive housing markets that have become vulnerable," says NAR Chief Economist David Lereah.
REALTOR® Associations Join NAR in Opposing Home Depot Bank - Don't let Home Depot get into the banking business, NAR President Tom Stevens told the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in a letter this week that was cosigned by all state, territory, and district associations of REALTORS®. Home Depot has applied to the FDIC for permission to acquire EnerBank USA, a Utah-based bank known as an industrial loan company. Such a move would further erode national policy keeping banking and commerce separate, and would introduce conflicts of interest and anti-competitive pressures, NAR says, since Home Depot plans to use the bank to make loans to remodelers. "Home Depot will have an incentive to encourage EnerBank to provide financial services to home improvement contractors that are Home Depot customers," Stevens says. The move by Home Depot follows another high-profile attempt by a big commercial business, Wal-Mart, to get into banking. NAR testified against that proposal, which remains pending.
Accord Puts Capital Flows to Real Estate at Risk - NAR remains concerned about upcoming changes to international central banking protocols for setting bank capital standards. Known as BASEL II, the accords could have a chilling effect on real estate markets by limiting the flow of capital. NAR plans to reiterate its concerns when proposed rules are published by the Federal Reserve, which could happen in the next two months.
Accounting Changes Could Impact Loan Securitization - Don't narrow commercial loan servicer flexibility, NAR tells a national board that's looking into accounting rules affecting how real estate loans are securitized. If the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) amends its rules to narrow servicer flexibility, there could be a negative change in the way securitized loans are reported by the lender. There could also be a limiting effect on the ability of commercial borrowers to reposition property. The Mortgage Bankers Association and the Real Estate Roundtable also oppose the possible FASB changes.
Guidance Issued on Seller-Assisted Downpayment Programs - HUD has issued FHA guidance on an IRS ruling that could hamper many seller-derived downpayment assistance providers. The number of these providers has shot up in recent years to help moderate-income buyers get into homeownership, and now the IRS is calling into question the nonprofit status of many of them, because the structure of their programs doesn't fit criteria for charitable groups. To help provide guidance, HUD issued a mortgagee letter (2006-13) advising mortgagees on how to determine when a downpayment gift provided by a charitable organization may be used for the borrower's downpayment contribution under FHA program requirements.
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