The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is reminding consumers and lawmakers about the important connection between housing and jobs.
NAR presents the following facts about the direct relationship between housing and jobs:
In the wake of President Obama's Fiscal Year 2012 budget and the Administration's calls for reforms to the secondary mortgage market, NAR president Ron Phipps said critics who say housing is a drain on federal resources couldn't be more wrong. "As REALTORS®, we know better than anyone else just how vital housing is to families and to our nation," Phipps commented in an NAR blog. "Housing is the engine that drives our national economy. Eight of the last 10 recessions have ended as a result of robust housing markets. The other two ended as a result of war spending. The choice is easy. America needs a healthy housing market to thrive."
Phipps said NAR will ask Congress to preserve the mortgage interest deduction at current levels; to move the credit pendulum to equilibrium, defined by a median credit score of 720; and to maintain government backing in the mortgage market as part of GSE reform.
"These three steps would help bring the housing market back to a normal level, possibly generating an additional one million home sales and 500,000 jobs," according to Phipps.
In Silicon Valley, the region's employment picture is looking brighter, as companies announce they will step up hiring, according to Gene Lentz, president of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®. "Silicon Valley employers added 12,300 positions in 2010. Google is hiring 6,000 new employees nationwide and 2,000 locally. Facebook Inc. has moved from its Palo Alto headquarters to a larger facility in Menlo Park in preparation for more growth and additional employees. Skype has announced that it, too, will hire 280 additional employees this year," said Lentz.
Just as housing creates more jobs, so will more jobs increase the demand for housing, bringing yet more jobs to the region, said Lentz, a REALTOR® with Red Hawk Real Estate in Menlo Park.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.