Legislative Opportunity to Bolster US Home Sales

Our current environment of lackluster US home sales was derived from the Subprime and ARM credit loans, previously making it attractive for real estate investors with 'little to no money down' to buy and sell homes in a previously fluid market. The real estate market down turn has not only impacted those real estate investors who many have defaulted on loans, but other areas of our economy, such as the stock markets, which appear to be effected, and are declining in value. Investors are looking toward the Federal Reserve to Act.

I am looking toward our lawmakers to ease the burden of these challenging market conditions. Not to act in a heavy handed way to restrain free markets, but to act to provide additional opportunities for the potential US home buyers to save for a home. We would like to have our lawmakers put in place a tax structure similar to the incentives provided for education with the 529 investment vehicle.

The foundation of the 529 ACT shows that congress recognizes the value of a college education, and the significant and rising expenses of that education. We would ask congress to create a tax vehicle to propel opportunities in savings for primary home buyers. Structure law to make it attractive for financial institutions to create new types of investment products for the consumer, where it would be similar in structure to the 529 education savings funds, but give Americans opportunities to take post-tax dollars, invest in funds, which allow the investor to withdraw their gains tax-free if used to purchase a primary home. At this basic level, the legislation provides opportunities to those people who are looking to purchase a primary home, and potentially limits the legislation from applying to real estate investors. Legislation could be more restrictive to include only first time home buyers.

At more aggressive levels, legislation can open up to pre-tax opportunities within ceiling limits; and applicability to properties beyond primary homes.

Our congressional legislators should not look at this legislation as a vehicle for investors to leverage a real estate property as a monetary investment, but as an opportunity for Americans to become vested citizens of this nation.