NAHB Lobbies for Housing Agenda

Washington, DC, June 6, 2012 -- More than 700 home builders trekked to Capitol Hill to call on Congress to make housing and homeownership a national priority and to take concrete steps to get housing back on track in order to create jobs and keep the economy moving forward.

“Though we are seeing some hopeful signs of recovery in many markets throughout the nation, our industry still faces stiff headwinds,” said NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg.

Persistently tight lending standards for home builders and home buyers, uncertainty regarding the future of the housing finance system, ongoing threats to vital housing tax incentives, and overly burdensome regulations are hampering a housing recovery and keeping countless home building firms from constructing viable projects and hiring new workers, Rutenberg said.

NAHB lobbied for legislation to restore the flow of credit for new housing production. NAHB is urging the House Financial Services Committee to consider H.R. 1755, the Home Construction Lending Regulatory Improvement Act that would remove barriers to lending while preserving the regulators’ ability to assure the safety and the soundness of the financial institutions they oversee.

NAHB also seeks legislation to reform Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, and preserve current housing tax incentives, including the mortgage interest deduction and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.